Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to approve future sites for offshore wind farms in the North Sea.

Applications for development consent for offshore wind projects under the Planning Act 2008 progress through an Examination process by the Planning Inspectorate and will result in the final decision taken by my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. Due to the Secretary of State’s quasi-judicial role in taking such decisions it would not be appropriate to comment further. The Scottish Ministers also have executively devolved powers in relation to applications for consent under s.36 of the Electricity Act 1989 throughout Scotland’s entire marine region (inshore and offshore).