I am grateful for the Chair's work and acknowledge the issue highlighted. Small businesses were locked into uncompetitive contracts post-COVID, leading to higher bills. We must break the link between gas prices and electricity costs by increasing clean energy on the system.

I thank my right hon. Friend and the Select Committee for all their work in this area. He knows my view from the evidence that I have given. The significant increase in industrial energy prices under the previous Government is a significant issue for our competitiveness—and yes, that is something that we seek to address.

As my right hon. Friend knows, I always welcome communications from the Select Committee and the constructive and helpful role it plays in all these important matters. He is right to say that the business community in the UK strongly backs the Government’s calm and level-headed approach to these difficult issues. The automotive sector is one of our major priorities. It is the sector that has the most exports because of the brilliant success we have with automotive exports to the US. It remains an absolute priority for us in any negotiation to secure what we need, which is the continuation of access to US markets in a way that is complementary to the US and that meets the ambitions of US consumers. Frankly, I do not see any argument for making that relationship more difficult through the long-term imposition of tariffs. We are closely engaged in a number of important meetings this week with senior automotive leaders, and we will continue to prepare that, working to keep the Select Committee involved.

I welcome the decision by my right hon. Friend's Select Committee to take a further look at the issue. It is a priority for the Department to speed up the compensation process, and victims are still coming forward. We are actively looking at whether all those who come forward are covered by the compensation schemes.

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for that question. As a new Secretary of State, the inquiry and the whole issue has affected deeply how I believe accountability and power should be considered in the roles we have as Ministers. It comes on the back of what we heard about Grenfell yesterday, and what we have heard about Bloody Sunday and Hillsborough. I believe that, although this is essentially a legacy issue, it is exactly the agenda that we have on coming into these jobs. The future of the Post Office must be linked to the inquiry not just in terms of redress, but in how the business model works better for sub-postmasters. I do not believe that this has been put into the public domain yet, but I have received a request to attend the inquiry. I will, of course, do so, and believe it is an essential way to put across what we will take from that inquiry and our plans for long-term reform in the future.

First, we need to reset the relationship between the Westminster Government and local authorities. I have seen far too many examples where the Secretary of State and Ministers have, at this Dispatch Box, hung individual councils out to dry. That is not a relationship of equals at all. I thank the leadership of Birmingham for taking the tough decisions and actions that are needed. This Government will work in partnership with them in a constructive way, as equals, going forward.