Voters want decisions over North Sea oil and gas to be made in Scotland

A majority of Scots want decisions about the awarding of North Sea oil and gas licences to be made in Scotland, according to polling.

Fifty-eight per cent of those surveyed by pollsters Ipsos said the decision on licences should be made by the Scottish Government, compared with 33 per cent who said the UK Government.

The awarding of licences for drilling is currently a reserved matter, with the UK Government set to make a decision soon on whether to give the go-ahead for the Rosebank oil field, which lies around 80 miles north west of Shetland.

Last week, Labour introduced its Energy Independence Bill in the Commons, legislation which rules out the further awarding of licences in the North Sea.

Speaking during First Minister’s Questions, John Swinney signalled his opposition, a U-turn on the SNP’s previous position which supported a presumption against any new drilling.

Elsewhere in the Ispos poll, 51 per cent of respondents said they supported the devolved government making decisions about National Insurance levels, compared with 38 per cent who said the UK Government.

And 48 per cent said immigration policy should mostly be decided by the Scottish Government, compared with 41 per cent who prefer the UK Government to do this.

Emily Gray, managing director of Ipsos Scotland, said: “These findings point to a clear public appetite for more decisions affecting Scotland to be made by the Scottish Government, particularly on North Sea oil and gas drilling licences, National Insurance and immigration.

“However, preferences divide sharply along political lines, with SNP voters favouring Scottish Government decision-making for these areas while Conservative and Reform UK voters are more likely to prefer continued UK Government responsibility.”

 According to the poll, public understanding of which responsibilities are currently devolved is reasonably high. Majorities correctly identified the Scottish Government as making most decisions about schools and further education (67 per cent), NHS services (66 per cent) and income tax bands and rates (56 per cent).

Large majorities also identified that immigration policy (79 per cent), National Insurance (72 per cent), and North Sea oil and gas drilling licences (71 per cent) are currently mainly decided by the UK Government.

Older Scots are substantially more likely than younger Scots to identify correctly where decision-making responsibility currently lies for key areas.