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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has received applications to undertake fracking in (a) Ealing, Southall constituency, (b) Ealing local authority area and (c) Greater London.

Before an operator can apply for planning permission from a local authority for any proposed oil or gas development, they need to apply for a Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence (PEDL) from the Oil and Gas Authority. There are no current PEDLs within the Greater London area.

In addition, under Section 50 of the Infrastructure Act 2015, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy must grant Hydraulic Fracturing Consent (HFC) before hydraulic fracturing can take place in the UK. The Department has not received any HFC applications relating to shale gas exploration in a) Ealing Southall constituency, b) Ealing local authority area or c) Greater London.

The British Geological Survey has identified the main areas of shale prosperity in the UK, none of which lie underneath the Greater London area.