Fracking: energy minister says Defra should publish secret house price report
This is a big issue for planning authorities, many in rural areas. The story tells us:
A secret report into the impact of fracking on house prices should and will be published, energy minister Andrea Leadsom has said, opening up a rift with the environment department over the controversial issue.
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which commissioned the report, published parts of it last year in response to a request from campaigners but redacted 63 passages.
The Information Commissioner ordered earlier this month that the report be published in full but Defra, which fought to keep it secret, has so far failed to do so.
Responding to questions from MPs, Andrea Leadsom, the energy minister, said on Tuesday that the report “is going to be published” and said she believed “it should be made available to the public, so that they can draw their own conclusions”.
The position is at odds with Defra, which on Tuesday confirmed it was still considering its options – including a potential appeal against publication.