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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to recommend to the Oil and Gas Authority that final consent is not given for fracking in Ryedale while (a) Third Energy has not published its 2016 accounts due on 30 September 2017 and (b) the Chairman of Third Energy Onshore Ltd, Keith Cochrane, is under investigation for his Chief Executive Officer role in the failed construction firm Carillion; and if he will make a statement.

As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 25 January 2018 [HCWS428] the Government considers that the financial resilience of a company wishing to hydraulically fracture is a relevant consideration. As a matter of policy, we will therefore look at issues relevant to the financial resilience of all companies wishing to carry out hydraulic fracturing operations alongside their application for Hydraulic Fracturing Consent. The Department is still considering Third Energy’s proposals to carry out hydraulically fracturing pursuant to the Direction issued to the Oil and Gas Authority on 29 November 2017 and will respond appropriately in due course.