To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to respond to his Department's joint consultation with Ofgem on proposals for a Future System Operator; and what assessment he has made of the relative potential merits of (a) strategic planning of infrastructure investment and (b) a sector-by-sector approach.

The recent consultation on a Future System Operator closed on the 28th September. Within the consultation the Government invited views on a whole systems approach, including joining up planning and co-ordination of networks in the gas and electricity sectors and improving strategic decision making in the energy system. A response to this consultation will be published in due course.