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Department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Mark Menzies

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Business of the House
Thursday 13th October 2016

(7 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I am shocked by the Secretary of State’s mother’s observations. I have a vivid imagination, but I find that utterly inconceivable.

Mark Menzies Portrait Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)
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T4. The Secretary of State will be aware that consent has been given for the first horizontal shale gas site at Preston New Road in my constituency. Will she assure me that the Environment Agency will conduct immediate on-the-spot inspections, and that many of them will be unannounced? What powers does the Environment Agency have to close down a site if it finds it to be in breach of regulations?

Andrea Leadsom Portrait Andrea Leadsom
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I am very happy to reassure my hon. Friend that we have a robust regulatory framework in place to ensure that shale exploration is carried out in a safe, sustainable and environmentally sound manner. The Environment Agency can undertake announced and unannounced inspections, and if there is any breach of a permit condition or a serious risk to people or the environment, it can take a number of enforcement actions, including the immediate ceasing of operations.

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