Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the specific remit is of (a) her Department and (b) its agencies in relation to hydraulic fracturing.
Defra is responsible for the environmental aspects of shale gas policy, with the exception of climate change and seismicity issues, on which the Department of Energy and Climate Change leads. Defra responsibility extends to England only, as environmental policy is a devolved matter.
The Environment Agency is the environmental regulator in England. The Environment Agency ensures that operations are conducted in a way that protects both people and the environment.
Natural England plays a role within the planning process. This includes consideration of landscape and biodiversity impacts where appropriate, as both a statutory consultee and as an advisor to developers pre-application.