Written question asked by Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour) on Monday, 2 February 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 4 February 2026. It was answered by Michael Shanks (Labour) on Tuesday, 10 February 2026 on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Incinerators: Regulation

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to (a) promote and (b) enforce the new EN-1 and EN-3 requirements associated with incinerators.

Answer: The Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1) and the National Policy Statement for Renewable Energy Infrastructure (EN-3) govern planning requirements for larger-scale incinerators (50MW+) that fall under the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) regime. Applications for Development Consent of NSIPs, including larger-scale incinerators, are determined by the Secretary of State under these policy frameworks. In 2025 these documents were updated to reflect current policy, including removal of Critical National Priority policy presumption from Energy from Waste proposals. Updates were subject to public consultation, and the revised energy National Policy Statements were published and came into effect in January 2026.

Secondary information