Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it is Government policy to ensure that baseline levels of environmental pollution prior to any fracking are not exceeded; and if he will make a statement.

The Government supports the use of baseline monitoring, which can be valuable in showing local communities environmental conditions ahead of operations, and helps ensure a more rigorous post-operation assessment.

Environmental permits for shale gas sites set out conditions that require baseline monitoring as well as ongoing monitoring throughout operations. Baseline data is important in the understanding of existing local environmental conditions. Permit conditions seek to ensure that no unacceptable impacts are caused by operations on the environment.

In the event that pollution is detected that can be attributed to permitted activities on any given site, action will be required to remediate any impact.