Jonathan Edwards
Main Page: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Charles Hendry)
My right hon. Friend will, I am sure, be delighted to know that I am already planning that. We are looking at a visit to Nigg before going on to Shetland and doing other parts of Scotland at the same time. I am delighted to have the chance to take part in that process. We should absolutely celebrate the way that some of our great, historic industrial facilities, built for the oil and gas industry, have been given new opportunities and a new lease of life, as they start to build the infrastructure that will be necessary for our renewable future.
Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)
Have Welsh Government Ministers requested at any point that they should have the final say in whether fracking developments take place on Welsh soil?
Charles Hendry
As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, decisions on energy infrastructure matters for Wales are made on a nationwide basis. We know that that is what the industry looks for. But of course, in that process there has to be local authority planning consent for the specific project. There has to be approval by the Environment Agency and its equivalents in Wales and Scotland, if the project is taking place there, and by the Health and Safety Executive. All the appropriate bodies are involved in that process.