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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take account of the Royal Society's update of its report of June 2012 on shale gas extraction before continuing his plans to extract such gas.

The Government has always been clear that shale gas development must be safe and environmentally sound. We are committed to ensuring a rigorous, evidence-based approach to shale gas extraction, and as such I welcome any new research that can further enhance our understanding and help inform our policy development.