Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to respond to the permitted development for shale gas exploration consultation which closed on 25 October 2018.

The Government will provide a comprehensive response to the Select Committee’s report, and respond to the consultations on permitted development for shale gas exploration and compulsory community pre-application consultation for shale gas development, in due course.

We are currently analysing the representations to both the consultations, and considering the Select Committee’s report and its conclusions and recommendations.