Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has plans to embed nature as a core priority in (a) the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan and (b) other energy planning frameworks.

The Government is fully committed to protecting nature. That’s why as part of the SSEP we are requiring NESO to give due consideration to environmental impacts and statutory environmental duties throughout all stages of its production. The SSEP will also be subject to a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and plan-level Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA).

Wider energy planning frameworks such as the Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP) will take a whole energy system approach to strategic network planning and balance environmental impact as a key priority alongside economic cost, deliverability, and community impact.