Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of including the preservation of nature as priority in the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan.

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. This will include environmental data sets, a robust governance framework and stakeholder engagement. The SSEP will also be subject to a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and plan-level Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA).