Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on fracking; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of permitting fracking on the Government's net zero emissions target for 2050.

The Government has adopted a presumption against issuing any further hydraulic fracturing consents. This is an effective moratorium on fracking and is in line with the commitment made in the 2019 Conservative Manifesto. This position will be maintained until compelling new evidence is provided which addresses concerns around the prediction and management of induced seismicity. There are no plans to put the moratorium on a legislative basis at this time.

Assessing the impact on net zero where there is an ongoing moratorium in place would not be a good use of Government resources.