Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) environmental and (b) biodiversity impact assessment she has made of the production of ground source heat pump technology.

Where the Environment Agency has a regulatory role, particularly open-source heat pumps, they have commenced research to better understand the environmental and biodiversity impacts. This is being done to ensure regulatory duties are being conducted in a way that encourages the installation of low carbon technology, whilst ensuring the wider environment is protected.

An assessment of demand for refrigerant gas in the future rollout of heat pumps will be included in the consultation on proposals to amend the Regulation on fluorinated greenhouse gases (the F-gas Regulation).