Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment has been made of whether there has been any water contamination as a result of fracking in Yorkshire and the Humber.

There has not yet been any high volume hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’, at the site in Yorkshire, and none is permitted to take place in the Humber. The water environment around the Yorkshire site is being monitored which is required to be assessed in accordance with the environmental permit, before, during and after fracking.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy made a written statement on 25 January regarding progress on the consent for fracking in Yorkshire.