£400m council pension cash invested in fracking firms

SCOTLAND’S councils have invested more than £400million in fracking companies – although the controversial oil and gas drilling technique is banned in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has imposed a moratorium on fracking and will decide later this year whether to introduce a permanent ban. But the pensions of Scottish council workers have been gambled against the success of 23 international fracking companies.

A new report by Friends of the Earth Scotland reveals that £406million of pension fund cash has been invested in the firms, which include Shell and BP.

Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and Falkirk were among those to have ploughed big sums into the companies.

A spokesman for council umbrella group Cosla said investment decisions lay entirely with the pension funds.