Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how responsibility for the regulation of fracking is divided between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) leads on energy policy including hydraulic fracturing for shale gas and oil. Defra is responsible for the environmental aspects of shale gas and oil policy, with the exception of climate change and seismicity issues which are a DECC lead.

Defra’s responsibility extends to England only as environmental policy is a devolved matter. The Environment Agency is the environmental regulator in England which is responsible for issuing environmental permits to ensure that operations are undertaken in a way which protects people and the environment.