Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Onshore Wind Planning Applications

Tuesday 16 April 2024 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • In 2023, 80 onshore wind planning applications were submitted in Great Britain, marking a 27% increase from 2022.
  • The Government has changed planning policy in England to facilitate more onshore wind projects with local support.
  • Local communities are given the authority to decide on the extent of onshore wind development in their areas.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Gareth Thomas Labour (Co-op) Harrow West
Climate Energy
Context

The number of onshore wind planning applications in Great Britain increased by 27% from 2022 to 2023. The government had claimed to lift the onshore wind ban seven months prior, suggesting it would speed up project delivery.

Question

What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on trends in the number of onshore wind planning applications?

Answer from Andrew Bowie

In 2023, 80 onshore wind planning applications were submitted in Great Britain—a 27% increase from 2022. We have recently changed planning policy in England to pave the way for more onshore wind projects where there is local support.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not address the specific discussions with cabinet colleagues and focuses only on statistics and recent changes in policy.

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Q2 Gareth Thomas Labour (Co-op) Harrow West
Climate Energy Environment
Context

The number of onshore wind planning applications in Great Britain increased by 27% from 2022 to 2023. The government had claimed to lift the onshore wind ban seven months prior, suggesting it would speed up project delivery. However, no new applications for domestic use have been submitted since.

Question

It is now seven months since the Government claimed to have lifted the onshore wind ban. The Secretary of State at the time claimed that her decision would speed up the delivery of projects. Since then, no new applications for onshore wind farms for domestic use have been submitted. Does the Minister think that that has been a success?

Answer from Andrew Bowie

Unlike the Opposition, we like to work with and listen to communities around the country. We believe in local consent for projects. It should be up to local communities to decide whether and how much onshore wind they want in their area. The Opposition do not like to talk about this, but we must remember that in 2010, a pitiful 7% of electricity came from renewables—that is up to 50% under this Government.

Not addressed: The answer does not address whether the lack of new applications since lifting the ban has been successful and instead focuses on criticising the opposition.

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