Oral Answers to Questions

Christopher Pincher Excerpts

Thursday 31st January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hayes]

There will be a proper planning process subject to all the normal scrutiny and discipline. Of course we must move ahead with caution, but to ignore this opportunity and cast aside this potential would be folly.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

21. The British Geological Survey suggests that there could be 10 trillion cubic feet of gas under the Bowland field, whereas Cuadrilla suggests that there may be as much as 200 trillion. Would not the best way to determine who is right, so that we find out just what impact this vital resource could have and to ensure that we can get players into the marketplace, be for the Department to release the information it has and forge ahead on the next licensing round? That would allow us to get players into the marketplace and just do it.

[Mr Hayes]

Consistency is the watchword that characterises all the work that my hon. Friend does in this place, for in the Select Committee he made just that point and urged the Government to move ahead with another licensing round as soon as possible. We need to test and we need to establish the scale of this potential. Without exploration we cannot do that—he is absolutely right.