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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to mitigate the costs to the public purse relating to recovery of environmental damage in the event that a company engaged in fracking becomes insolvent after fracking operations have begun.

Each shale gas licensee (and there may be more than one for each licence) is responsible for their well(s).

The Government has been clear that it considers that the financial resilience of a company wishing to hydraulically fracture is a relevant consideration in the consents process. As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 25 January 2018, on Energy Policy, HCWS428, as a matter of policy we will look at the financial resilience of all companies wishing to carry out hydraulic fracturing operations alongside their application for Hydraulic Fracturing Consent to ensure companies have the financial capacity to meet their regulatory obligations, including protecting the environment.

If environmental damage does occur, remediation of the damage will be dealt with under the main regimes for dealing with contamination, the Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2009 and Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.