1-20 of 113 results for subject:Fracking
Librarians' tools
- Search time
- 0.256 seconds
- Solr query time
- 0.003 seconds
- Search query
- subject:Fracking
- We searched for
- subject_t:Fracking OR subject_t:"Coal bed methane" OR subject_t:"Hydraulic fracturing" OR subject_t:"Shale gas" OR subject_ses:367875
Type
House
Session
Year
Department
Member
More
Primary member
Answering member
Legislative stage
Legislation
Subject
More
Publisher
Q10
.
Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con):
I thank the Prime Minister for sticking by her words and giving communities in Fylde the final say on fracking, but as always the devil is in the detail. Will the Prime Minister assure me that local consent will be measured independently and transparently, that in no circumstances will fracking companies be directly engaged in assessing local consent, and that if people in Fylde say no, that view and that decision will be respected and acted on by this Government?
Q10
.
Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con):
I thank the Prime Minister for sticking by her words and giving communities in Fylde the final say on fracking, but as always the devil is in the detail. Will the Prime Minister assure me that local consent will be measured independently and transparently, that in no circumstances will fracking companies be directly engaged in assessing local consent, and that if people in Fylde say no, that view and that decision will be respected and acted on by this Government?
I agree very strongly with my hon. Friend. I know he cares deeply about this issue. I assure him that we will consult on a robust system of local consent and give clear advice on seismic limits and safety before any fracking takes place. The consultation will consider all the relevant people—the regional Mayors, the local authorities and parishes—and the concerns of those who are directly affected. My right hon. Friend the Business Secretary will say more about this later today.
As always, it is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown). Anyone listening to us can tell that we clearly come from the same part of the world.
The matter before us today is of great importance to my Fylde constituency. I begin by...
As always, it is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown). Anyone listening to us can tell that we clearly come from the same part of the world.
The matter before us today is of great importance to my Fylde constituency. I begin by...
I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention, and the point she makes is a powerful one that stands on its own.
In his letter, the Secretary of State has confirmed that the Government will launch a consultation next month to assess how local consent is to be gauged and has...
I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention, and the point she makes is a powerful one that stands on its own.
In his letter, the Secretary of State has confirmed that the Government will launch a consultation next month to assess how local consent is to be gauged and has...
The hon. Lady makes an important point.
On energy security, let me say that there is nobody more committed to it than myself; we manufacture all the nuclear fuel for the UK in my constituency, at Westinghouse. But in order to make up the shortfall of the amount of gas we...
The hon. Lady makes an important point.
On energy security, let me say that there is nobody more committed to it than myself; we manufacture all the nuclear fuel for the UK in my constituency, at Westinghouse. But in order to make up the shortfall of the amount of gas we...
There is nothing Luddite about the people of Lancashire or Fylde. I want to say how disappointed I am that Parliament was not informed about this issue before the media was, and that as a local Member of Parliament, I was not given that courtesy, despite having requested information for...
There is nothing Luddite about the people of Lancashire or Fylde. I want to say how disappointed I am that Parliament was not informed about this issue before the media was, and that as a local Member of Parliament, I was not given that courtesy, despite having requested information for...
With local consent.
With local consent.
Let me outline at the start that this does affect my constituency, and I am disappointed that my hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) did not have the courtesy to give me advance notice that he was going to be asking a question pertaining to my constituency.
These are...
Let me outline at the start that this does affect my constituency, and I am disappointed that my hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) did not have the courtesy to give me advance notice that he was going to be asking a question pertaining to my constituency.
These are...
It is a great privilege to be able to speak in a debate of such importance to my constituency. I thank the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) for applying to the Backbench Business Committee for it. It follows in the path of a similar debate that I held in...
It is a great privilege to be able to speak in a debate of such importance to my constituency. I thank the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) for applying to the Backbench Business Committee for it. It follows in the path of a similar debate that I held in...
That is why I called the Westminster Hall debate last year and why I am on my feet today. It is absolutely critical that permitted development, which has a place in our planning system, is for, say, a small extension to a bungalow or a conservatory, not for an enormous...
That is why I called the Westminster Hall debate last year and why I am on my feet today. It is absolutely critical that permitted development, which has a place in our planning system, is for, say, a small extension to a bungalow or a conservatory, not for an enormous...
I absolutely agree. The Minister has a difficult decision to make, because the planning system for shale gas simply cannot continue as it is. After various appeals, the planning process for Preston New Road and Roseacre has been going on for years. It is not good for local communities to...
I absolutely agree. The Minister has a difficult decision to make, because the planning system for shale gas simply cannot continue as it is. After various appeals, the planning process for Preston New Road and Roseacre has been going on for years. It is not good for local communities to...
Absolutely. Time is against me, so I will not give way again.
It is important that the Secretary of State bears in mind the concerns raised by local communities and Members such as me, and that we work together in a constructive way to ensure that permitted development is taken off...
Absolutely. Time is against me, so I will not give way again.
It is important that the Secretary of State bears in mind the concerns raised by local communities and Members such as me, and that we work together in a constructive way to ensure that permitted development is taken off...
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution to the UK economy of the shale gas industry to date.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution to the UK economy of the shale gas industry to date.
The shale gas industry has the potential to provide the UK with a new domestic energy source, reducing our need for imports, providing more jobs, and contributing to economic growth. However, the industry is at the very early stages of exploration and we do not yet know how much of the UK’s shale resources can be extracted technically or economically and what the contribution to the UK economy could be.
We will continue to support responsible companies, working within our stringent regulatory regime, who are prepared to invest in this industry as they proceed with the exploration process, to test the size and value of the potential reserves.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution to the economy of Fylde of the shale gas industry to date.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution to the economy of Fylde of the shale gas industry to date.
The Government believes that communities should experience direct benefits from hosting hydraulic fracturing sites in their area. At the exploration stage, £100,000 in community benefits will be provided per well-site when hydraulic fracturing takes place and 1% of revenues at production stage will be paid out to communities.
I am pleased to see that these benefits are already being realised from Cuadrilla’s operations in Lancashire. Cuadrilla has spent almost £9million directly with suppliers based in Lancashire, has over 700 local companies registered with its supplier portal and has provided over £200,000 for local sponsorship schemes.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of shale gas extraction on (a) domestic and (b) commercial energy tariffs.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of shale gas extraction on (a) domestic and (b) commercial energy tariffs.
It is not yet known how much of the UK shale gas resource will ultimately be recoverable, or what rates of extraction, deliverability or reliability could be assumed if shale sources are found to be viable. Therefore the impact on energy tariffs has not been assessed to date.
The Government will continue to monitor progress of the shale gas industry and will revise its estimates, as appropriate, as the industry develops.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of noise levels at the Preston New Road Shale Gas site since the commencement of (a) exploratory drilling and (b) exploratory fracturing.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of noise levels at the Preston New Road Shale Gas site since the commencement of (a) exploratory drilling and (b) exploratory fracturing.
Lancashire Country Council and the Environment Agency are jointly responsible for noise level assessments under planning conditions and environmental permit conditions.
Flaring operations are currently the only activity regulated under an environmental permit that noise could be attributed to. The Environment Agency carefully considered emissions from noise and vibrations during its environmental permit determination and concluded that they are not an issue due to the design of the flare, the location of the site, and the level of background noise.
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of planning permission breaches at the Preston New Road Shale gas site since the commencement of exploratory drilling.
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of planning permission breaches at the Preston New Road Shale gas site since the commencement of exploratory drilling.
The Department does not record centrally the number of breaches of planning control that may have occurred at any particular development site. Enforcement action against any suspected breaches of planning control is a matter for local planning authorities. Local authorities who wish to take enforcement action against breaches of planning control can bid for resources from the Department’s £1.6 million shale support funding scheme.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to monitor emissions from shale gas sites once they have been decommissioned.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to monitor emissions from shale gas sites once they have been decommissioned.
The Environment Agency requires monitoring of the environmental conditions at shale gas sites before operations can start in accordance with the environmental permit granted. This provides a valuable evidence base to compare against monitoring results taken during and after operations. The type and period of monitoring required after decommissioning is determined on a site by site basis. It will depend on the risks associated with the type and scale of activities at a particular site, together with the local environmental setting.
The Environment Agency will not allow an operator to surrender their permit until it is satisfied that the well has been decommissioned in line with the Health and Safety Executive's requirements and either no pollution has occurred at a site, or if it has, that the site has been returned to its original condition.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential air quality effects of shale gas extraction since the completion of the Air Quality Expert Group report n that subject in 2015.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential air quality effects of shale gas extraction since the completion of the Air Quality Expert Group report n that subject in 2015.
The report, “Potential Air Quality Impacts of Shale Gas Extraction in the UK”, prepared by the Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) was published on 27 July and no further assessment of air quality impacts from this activity has been carried out.
However, in line with the AQEG recommendations, the Environment Agency (EA) continues to monitor air quality around identified exploration sites before, during and after activities and they provide strict guidance that operators must adhere to.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the waste water disposal system at the Preston New Road Shale Gas site.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the waste water disposal system at the Preston New Road Shale Gas site.
Environmental permits issued by the Environment Agency set legally binding conditions. The permit at Preston New Road allows for hydraulic fracturing fluid that returns to the surface, known as flowback fluid, to be reused and recycled onsite in the process. Flowback fluid that cannot be recycled will become waste, and must be taken offsite for treatment at appropriately licensed waste water treatment facilities.
Waste flowback is not expected to be produced at the site until further into the fracturing programme. At that time the Environment Agency plan to carry out a full audit of flowback storage, sampling and disposal.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Environment Agency has made of the level of compliance by Cuadrilla Resources with relevant environmental restrictions at its shale gas site at Preston New Road.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Environment Agency has made of the level of compliance by Cuadrilla Resources with relevant environmental restrictions at its shale gas site at Preston New Road.
The Environment Agency has been carrying out regular inspections, audits and unannounced spot checks to ensure that Cuadrilla is compliant with the legally binding conditions in the environmental permit.
Cuadrilla had a small number of non-compliances with their environmental permit in 2017, mostly for procedural matters. This is not uncommon for industrial sites after site inspections and audits. In these instances the Environment Agency has provided advice and guidance to ensure full compliance with the permits. In response Cuadrilla has implemented the required improvements. So far in 2018, no permit non-compliances have been recorded.