Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce delays in the planning process for shale gas development.

Through the 2017 manifesto we have put forward proposals to treat non-fracking drilling as permitted development. These proposals aim to establish expert planning functions to support local councils, and, when necessary, for major shale planning decisions to be made the responsibility of the National Planning Regime. We will continue to consider any further measures needed to help speed up the planning process.