Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment he has made of the case for establishing a Select Committee, in line with section 9 of the Planning Act 2008, to consider the national policy statements for (1) energy, (2) renewable energy infrastructure, and (3) electricity networks infrastructure, for which the scrutiny periods expire on 22 July.

The Liaison Committee is responsible for the establishment of select committees and it keeps the number of committees under regular review. No select committees have been established specifically for the purpose of considering National Policy Statements since the Act was passed in 2008. Existing committees can examine National Policy Statements within the scope of their orders of reference set by the House. For example, the Industry and Regulators Committee’s recent report Power struggle: Delivering Great Britain’s electricity grid infrastructure included recommendations on the National Policy Statements for Energy.