Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the number of full-time equivalent staff required by the Health and Safety Executive in order for it to perform its role as a regulator of hydraulic fracturing in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16, (c) 2016-17, (d) 2017-18, (e) 2018-19 and (f) 2019-2020.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has sufficient resource to regulate the development of shale gas in the current exploratory stage. HSE continues to review its level of staffing to ensure the level of resourcing is appropriate relevant to the volume of hydraulic fracturing activity being undertaken.