The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Government’s fracking ban backed by Holyrood
Labour, Greens and Lib Dems vote with Government
Holyrood has backed the Scottish Government decision to ban fracking.
The Tories said the SNP move is “ludicrous” with Scotland missing out on a “gold rush” industry while relying on imported shale gas.
Labour, the Greens and the Lib Dems used the debate to call for the Government to make the ban harder for future governments to overturn.
The decision earlier this month to use planning laws to “effectively ban” the energy extraction technique was backed by 91 to 28 MSPs last night.
Energy minister Paul Wheelhouse said 99% of respondents to a public consultation backed the ban and government-commissioned research “does not provide a strong enough basis from which to address these communities’ concerns”.
He said: “The Scottish Government has concluded it is in the public interest to say no to fracking.
“The steps we have taken have given immediate effect to this position.”
He added the approach chosen prevents “unnecessary legislation”.
Murdo Fraser, the Perthshire-based Tory MSP, said: “Even though the nationalists seek to ban fracking, we will continue to see fracked gas from elsewhere imported to Scotland to heat our homes and power our industry.
“In effect, what the SNP is saying is that it’s happy to import fracked gas from anywhere in the world at great environmental cost and where the safeguards may be much less, but it doesn’t want it in our back yard.”
Ineos is already importing 40,000 barrels of shale gas from the US, while extracting it safely domestically could lead to tax receipts of up to £4 billion, said the Conservatives.
The SNP administration accepted Labour and Green amendments that called for the planning-based ban to be strengthened by including it in national planning frameworks.
But Mr Wheelhouse said it was not necessary to have a standalone fracking bill.
Labour’s Claudia Beamish said incorporating the ban into the national planning framework would mean there would have to be a vote in Holyrood before the ban could be lifted, so it could not be “changed on a ministerial whim”.
Green MSP Mark Ruskell said: “It’s time to put in place a watertight ban with a firm basis in planning law.”
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur said the government’s approach was the “best way of implementing an immediate and effective ban” on fracking, but called for it to be included in the planning framework.