Thomas Docherty: ...my constituents have talked to me about this issue, for reasons that I shall explain shortly. While I strongly disagree with the views of the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) on fracking and, funnily enough, on many other issues, I respect her right to engage in political protest and to be arrested, and, if she were convicted and sentenced to a few days, it would be...
Thomas Docherty: ...Audit Committee, made an incredibly thoughtful and logical speech, and we support her new clause 6. We are clear that, as she said, this is not a debate about the merits and demerits of fracking technology. It is about trying to ensure that there are safeguards in place. Her constituency is still suffering the fallout from open-cast mining not having had sufficient guarantees in place, so...
Thomas Docherty: ...it is a probing amendment. The hon. Gentleman will probably be more effective than I have been in winning over the Minister. A memorandum of understanding has been reached between Water UK and the fracking industry which Ministers south of the border find acceptable. However, Scottish Ministers have expressed concerns about it. I should be grateful if the Minister could tell us whether the...
Thomas Docherty: ...clear and compelling evidence that chalk streams are under real threat, because more and more water is being taken out of them. We had a really good evidence session on Tuesday when we heard about fracking. I shall not get drawn into the merits of fracking, but, as we heard from the Environment Agency, fracking will place an additional burden on the water table. We support the need for...
Thomas Docherty: Returning to the fracking exchange that we had slightly earlier on, I am not an expert, but my understanding of some of the correspondence I have seen from my and other MPs’ constituents that there is concern that if fracking goes wrong, it may pollute the water table. From your nod, Mr Bishop, you are vaguely aware of what I am trying to get to. Given that this is an emergent technology,...
Thomas Docherty: So when you are looking at the licence conditions for fracking, considering how fracking licences should be granted and ensuring that there are robust procedures in the first place, is that one of the things that you are actively looking at?