Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of how agricultural land classification is assessed in energy infrastructure project decisions.

Both the National Planning Policy Framework and National Policy Statements were updated in 2024. They make clear that energy infrastructure should always be located in areas of poorer quality land rather that higher quality land where possible. At the end of September 2024, ground-mount solar PV panels only covered around 0.1 per cent of the total land area of the UK.