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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) increase grid infrastructure and (b) speed up the planning consent process for energy infrastructure in the context of the Government's renewable energy targets for 2030.

Ofgem is responsible for regulating network companies, but the Government engages in and supports their work to increase grid infrastructure by speeding up approvals and bringing forward strategic investment through the price control process.

The Government will produce and publish revised National Policy Statements in due course, bring forward measures to improve the performance of the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) planning process and accelerate development consent. The Government will publish a full NSIP Reform Action Plan, as well as consultations on national policy statements and on further regulatory and guidance changes to improve the operation of the system.