Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by Norway to become the first country in the world to commence commercial deep seabed mining and the impact on the UK.

The UK government notes the Norwegian government’s decision of 9 January 2024 to consider awarding licences for deep sea mining exploration and potentially in future extraction on its continental shelf. This area is within Norway’s jurisdiction and is not regulated by the International Seabed Authority.