Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will include biodiversity offsetting requirements to any fracking licenses it grants.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In line with 2019 Conservative Manifesto commitments, the Government has adopted a presumption against issuing any further hydraulic fracturing consents. This position, an effective moratorium, will be maintained until compelling new evidence is provided addressing concerns around the prediction and management of induced seismicity.
The Government does not consider it necessary to apply offsetting requirements to activities subject to an ongoing moratorium.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on fracking; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of permitting fracking on the Government's net zero emissions target for 2050.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has adopted a presumption against issuing any further hydraulic fracturing consents. This is an effective moratorium on fracking and is in line with the commitment made in the 2019 Conservative Manifesto. This position will be maintained until compelling new evidence is provided which addresses concerns around the prediction and management of induced seismicity. There are no plans to put the moratorium on a legislative basis at this time.
Assessing the impact on net zero where there is an ongoing moratorium in place would not be a good use of Government resources.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their current policy on fracking; and whether the UK moratorium on fracking is still in place.
Answered by Lord Callanan
The Government supports the core ambitions set out in the 2019 manifesto and will therefore revert to a precautionary approach and only support shale gas exploration if it can be done in a way that is sustainable and protects local communities. The Government has confirmed that it will adopt a presumption against issuing further hydraulic fracturing consents. We will be led by the evidence on whether this form of exploration can be done in a way which acceptably manages the risk to local communities.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that fracking caused an earthquake every day that the site at Preston New Road, Lancashire, was in operation.
Answered by Lord Callanan
The Government has confirmed that it is adopting a presumption against issuing any further hydraulic fracturing consents. This position, an effective moratorium, will be maintained until compelling new evidence is provided which addresses concerns around the prediction and management of induced seismicity.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow local communities to veto future plans for fracking in their area.
Answered by Lord Callanan
As the Government has confirmed that it will adopt a presumption against issuing further hydraulic fracturing consents, the Government will not be taking forward a public consultation on the approach to local support at this time.
Asked by: Mark Jenkinson (Conservative - Workington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what impact a presumption against issuing any further Hydraulic Fracturing Consents on the basis of potential seismic events may have on (a) sourcing geothermal energy and (b) exploration for lithium and other minerals.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Infrastructure Act 2015 set out provisions for ‘associated hydraulic fracturing’ where it is defined as hydraulic fracturing of shale or strata encased in shale for the purposes of searching for or extracting petroleum or natural gas. The presumption against issuing any further Hydraulic Fracturing Consents on the basis of potential seismic events should therefore have no impact on sourcing geothermal energy or the exploration for lithium and other minerals.
The control and mitigation of induced seismicity for deep geothermal projects is based on the British Standard BS 6472-2 (BSI, 2008), which defines limits for acceptable levels of ground vibrations caused by blasting and quarrying, and other local planning authority guidelines for blasting, quarrying, and mining. These thresholds are defined in terms of measured ground velocity rather than seismicity.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the time that would be taken for shale gas extraction to have a significant impact on the level of energy supply; and what recent assessment he has made of the role that can be played by shale gas extraction in supporting the UK's energy needs.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has confirmed that it is adopting a presumption against issuing any further hydraulic fracturing consents. This position, an effective moratorium, will be maintained until compelling new evidence is provided which addresses concerns around the prediction and management of induced seismicity. The Government is taking other measures to build energy security and affordability.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of fracking on meeting global climate targets.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government issued a Written Ministerial Statement on 27 October confirming that it will adopt a presumption against issuing further hydraulic fracturing consents. This effective moratorium will be maintained until compelling new evidence is provided addressing concerns around the prediction and management of induced seismicity. As such, shale gas extraction will not impact the UK meeting global climate targets.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to Dr Laurence Stamford’s recommendations from The University of Manchester’s Energy Futures publication, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of UKOOG’s estimates that shale would only provide about 5 per cent of demand by 2027; and if he will instead tackle decarbonisation to impact consumer bills through energy conservation and reduction demand.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In line with the commitment made in the 2019 Conservative Manifesto, the Government will revert to a precautionary approach regarding hydraulic fracturing operations. The Government will again take a presumption against issuing any further hydraulic fracturing consents, a position which is an effective moratorium.
The Government remains committed to net zero by 2050. The UK is a climate leader and is driving down demand for fossil fuels on the path to net zero.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the extraction of shale gas on the environment; and if he will publish those assessments.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Environment Agency (EA) has been working on defining, assessing and controlling the potential environmental impacts of shale gas developments since 2013 when it produced and published a document titled An Environmental Risk Assessment for shale gas exploratory operations in England Published. This defined the range of environmental risks and the current regulatory controls and was the starting point for development of sector specific guidance. The current version of Onshore Oil and Gas Sector Guidance was published in 2019. It sets out what activities require environmental permits and how an applicant is required to demonstrate that the impact on the environment from these activities will be controlled.
The potential environmental impact of each site is assessed individually based on its specific environmental setting. Applicants are required to identify all environmental risks and provide a full demonstration of how these will be controlled. The EA assessed this information and sets out the limits and controls in a permit and how it reached the decision in an accompanying decision document.
The EA has undertaken a programme of scientific research on a range of topics relating to risk assessment and monitoring of potential impacts from hydraulic fracturing and shale gas. Since 2019 it has published 18 separate reports. The EA has liaised closely with government and industry bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive, the North Sea Transition Authority and UK Onshore Oil & Gas, so that scientific evidence and research findings are shared and understood.