Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a community benefit scheme for agricultural landowners affected by the National Grid Norwich to Tilbury project who will no longer be able to farm land with a pylon on it.

The Government cannot comment on specific projects which will come before the Secretary of State for a final planning decision. All projects, regardless of location, must go through the independent and robust planning process.

We are committed to ensuring that communities who live near new transmission infrastructure can see the benefits of it and are considering how to most effectively deliver this. Community benefits are different to compensation. Depending on the specifics of each case, network operators must have an agreement with landowners impacted by the presence of transmission infrastructure projects on their land, which includes payment of appropriate compensation.