Lancashire MPs upset at fracking ban being lifted
Fracking was stopped after a series of tremors recorded at Preston New Road
Last updated 27th Nov 2023
Liz Truss's Government has lifted the fracking ban in England as part of a wider plan to explore avenues to improve energy security.
Environmental campaigners are not happy about this as fracking has been blamed for leaking millions of tons of methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide.
Business and Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said the impact of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine means securing domestic energy supplies is vital as he defended lifting the moratorium on fracking, which has been in place since 2019 after a series of tremors caused by the process.
Mr Rees-Mogg suggested limits on acceptable levels of seismic activity are too restrictive and said the Government is determined to "realise any potential sources of domestic gas".
Mr Rees-Mogg said:
"In light of Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine and weaponisation of energy, strengthening our energy security is an absolute priority, and - as the Prime Minister said - we are going to ensure the UK is a net energy exporter by 2040.
"To get there we will need to explore all avenues available to us through solar, wind, oil and gas production - so it's right that we've lifted the pause to realise any potential sources of domestic gas."
MPs from across Lancashire let their feelings be known in a debate in the commons earlier.
Blackpool South MP Scott Benton said:
"My constituents are understandably anxious about fracking returning to the Fylde Coast.
The Government said fracking would only be resumed if there was local support from communities.
Mr. Benton said:
"What is a local community and how do you define that, how can you tell if it demands local support and what incentives, if any will be provided for local communities to have fracking thrust upon them?"
Blackpool North and Cleveleys MP Paul Maynard said:
"I saw to reassure my constituents that they would be asked if they supported fracking before it returned to the Fylde Coast, but I'm yet to hear how local consent will be determined indeed an absence of any reference to local consent."
He asked Jacob Rees-Mogg:
"Will be constituents be asked if they support fracking, or not?"
Fylde MP Mark Menzies said:
"As a local member of parliament I was not given the courtesy, despite having requested for two weeks, contacting the honourable member to get information. I've sent letters, I've sent WhatsApps and I've had nothing back."
What is fracking?
Fracking is the process of hydraulic fracturing, which uses high-pressure liquid to release gas from shale formations.
The 2019 Conservative manifesto pledged not to lift England's moratorium unless "the science shows categorically it can be done safely".
A Government-commissioned report by the British Geological Survey (BGS) was inconclusive, saying more data was needed, but despite the lack of scientific progress, Ms Truss's administration has torn up the manifesto commitment.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said lifting the ban means future applications will be considered "where there is local support".
Developers will need to have the necessary licences, permissions and consents in place before they can commence operations.
Mr Rees-Mogg said while the Government will "always try to limit disturbance" to those living and working near to fracking sites, "tolerating a higher degree of risk and disturbance appears to us to be in the national interest".
BEIS said the BGS review "recognised that we have limited current understanding of UK geology and onshore shale resources, and the challenges of modelling geological activity in relatively complex geology sometimes found in UK shale locations".