David Ross
Highland Correspondent
THE chapter dealing with the “Environment, Rural Scotland and Resources” is
among the most important in the document.
Dealing with oil and gas and renewable energy, it is the economic
powerhouse of the White Paper’s vision.
There is no great surprise that it laments the wasted oppor-tunities of the
past. “Stabilisation funds and sovereign wealth funds are common among oil
and gas producing countries, with the UK being a notable exception.”
But that would change in an independent Scotland. The creation of a
Scottish Energy Fund would be an early priority. The revenues from oil and
gas production would be invested in this to provide investment for future
generations from a natural resource that can only be extracted once.
In answer to opponents who stress the uncertainties of oil prices, the fund
would provide income to “smooth” receipts from oil revenues, recognising
that these vary from year to year.
The White Paper is at pains not to spook the sector: “We have no plans to
increase the overall tax burden on the oil industry and no changes will be
made to the fiscal regime without consultation.”
The optimism continues: “Overall, Scotland has the vast bulk of the UK’s
offshore oil and gas reserves, which are estimated to have a wholesale
value of £1.5 trillion. Record investment in 2013 points to a bright and
lengthy future for oil and gas production in Scotland.”
While great attention has been paid to the retention of the pound, there
could be an energy equiva-lent which, it would appear, would have to be
negotiated as well. This is because the docu-ment proposes that Scotland
will continue to participate in the GB market for electricity and gas.
It assumes that Scotland would enter it from a position of strength: “As a
substantial supplier to the rest of the UK, an independent Scotland will
require a far greater degree of oversight of the market arrangements for
energy and firmer safeguards over Scottish energy security.”
Green energy would play a big part in this, and there is to be a leasing
system for offshore and foreshore wind/wave and tidal energy projects. This
will be “designed to increase investment and production while benefiting
local communities, particularly in our island areas, replacing the Crown
Estate Commissioners”.
While the White Paper appears reluctant just to abolish the Crown Estate,
it could end up unrecognisable. Its management is to be reviewed and there
would be consultation on the greater local ownership of assets “inclu-ding
greater autonomy for the islands and ownership of the foreshore and local
harbours.”
On energy bills, change is also proposed. As trailed last month, in an
independent Scotland householders would no longer pay for measures
addressing fuel poverty and energy efficiency through energy bills.
Respons-ibility would be transferred from energy firms to the Scottish
Government which would meet the costs from central resources. This would
cut bills by around 5%, or approximately £70 every year.
There would still be a statutory target to eradicate fuel poverty and cut
emissions from housing.
The White Paper says independence would mean that Scotland’s farmers and
crofters would no longer lose out as they have been doing. It claims that
due to Westminster not sharing Scottish priorities, Scotland has the third
lowest average direct payment per hectare in Europe; that in newly
negotiated agricult-ural subsidies for 2014 to 2020, Scotland will have a
lower average rate per hectare than any other member state in Europe and
than the rest of the UK.
Direct Scottish representation would change that, as it would for the
fishing industry. It recalls that last year, Scotland accounted for 87% of
the total value of UK landings of key stocks, repres-enting 37% of the
Total Allowable Catch of these stocks available to the EU. However,
Scotland received just 41% of the Euro-pean Fisheries Fund allocation to
the UK, despite having a far higher share of both the UK sea fishery and
aquaculture sectors.
So it stresses “fishing quotas will be retained in Scotland as a national
asset”.
Meanwhile an independent Scottish Parliament would have the chance to
enshrine protection of the environment in a written constitution.
The government of an indepen-dent Scotland would also have the powers to
prioritise the needs of rural Scotland in relation to telecommunications,
postal services, fuel and energy policy.
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