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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their most recent assessment of (1) the contribution that the Bowland Shale Formation can make to meeting the energy requirements of the UK, and (2) the proportion of such requirements during the next 10 years that will be met by shale gas fracking.

BEIS and Ofgem’s joint annual Statutory Security of Supply Report provides an assessment of the current availability of secure, affordable electricity, gas and oil for meeting the needs of consumers. The latest report, published on 18 December 2020, does not use hydraulically fractured shale gas in any of its security of supply assessments. Please see attached.

In October 2017, BEIS published a report summarising gas security over the next 20 years, including consideration of the role of shale gas in general. Please see attached.