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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to prohibit fracking in (a) York Central constituency, (b) York, (c) the boundary of the City of York unitary authority and (d) North Yorkshire.

The Government has neither prioritised nor ruled out development of shale gas in any specific location in England.

The Government will be looking to developers to work closely with communities when gathering local support for any potential shale gas projects across the country.

Restrictions set out in the Onshore Hydraulic Fracturing Regulations 2015 and in licence conditions ensure that shale gas extraction will not be permitted in wells drilled from our most valued areas including National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Specific Scientific Interest.