Asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb To ask Her Majesty’s
Government whether they have reviewed their policy of making no
funding stream available to meet additional policing costs incurred
as a result of fracking. Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con) My
Lords, it is not correct to suggest that there is no such
established funding mechanism available. Police...Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have reviewed
their policy of making no funding stream available to meet
additional policing costs incurred as a result of fracking.
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(Con)
My Lords, it is not correct to suggest that there is no
such established funding mechanism available. Police and
crime commissioners can apply for special grant funding to
help meet the additional costs of unexpected events,
including policing protests at hydraulic fracturing sites.
The Home Office has previously provided special grant
funding for the policing of fracking protests.
-
(GP)
I thank the Minister for her reply. I was at Preston New
Road two weeks ago, which is the front line of
anti-fracking protests in Lancashire. The remarkable thing
was how many local residents were protesting, because every
level of local government had turned down the fracking
application from Cuadrilla, yet the Government came in and
overturned all those local decisions. How does that fit
with the Government’s manifesto promise to allow local
people to decide for themselves? The Government have not
only broken their promise but have also incurred hundreds
of thousands of pounds-worth of extra policing costs, which
the public have to pay.
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The noble Baroness raises a number of issues. Peaceful
protest is a vital part of our democratic society. However,
it is important that protesters protest within the law. The
noble Baroness mentioned Lancashire. In the last few weeks,
26 people have been arrested in Yorkshire, two of whom have
been released under caution and 22 have been charged,
including for assaulting a police officer. That obviously
relates back to costs: if people stayed within the law,
perhaps the taxpayer would not have to pay for all these
additional policing costs.
-
(LD)
I suggest that the Government follow Scotland’s example and
ban fracking, in which case there would be no policing
costs in this regard. Does the Minister agree?
-
My Lords, I think it is a great shame that Scotland has
taken the decision that it has. It has had a moratorium on
fracking since 2015, and it appears that this is now
permanent. However, we believe that hydraulic fracturing
can be done safely in the UK, and that there are strong
regulations in place to protect individuals. It is
important because it will reduce our gas imports, create
jobs and heat our homes.
-
(PC)
My Lords, the noble Baroness will be aware that there is a
moratorium on fracking in Wales. In those circumstances, is
it not a bit ironic that the Gwent police force was sent up
to Lancashire for the purposes of controlling the
protesters? Given that the costs of such an exercise can
sometimes become very great, can she give an assurance that
all the costs incurred by Gwent will be paid for from
central funds?
-
My Lords, as I am sure the noble Lord is aware, mutual aid
between different police forces is very well established,
and the costs for meeting those things are, of course,
sorted out in the wash.
-
(Con)
My Lords, does my noble friend not agree that if the police
and the authorities were to give in to the nimbys who are
against fracking, the nimbys who are preventing planning
consent being given to deal with the housing shortage crisis
would be at it as well? It is nimbyism and it needs to be put
down.
-
I refer my noble friend to my previous answer about
protesting being a vital part of our democratic society.
However, he raises a very important point. The most recent
figures from the public attitude survey carried out by BEIS
show that the vast majority—90%—of the public feel that they
simply do not have enough information about fracking. That
and not the fact that it is taking place is where the problem
lies.
-
(Lab)
My Lords, I too have been reading the Conservative Party
manifesto—it is sad but there we are. Perhaps I may quote
from it. It says that it is necessary to,
“maintain public confidence in the”,
fracking,
“process … uphold our rigorous environmental protections, and
… ensure the proceeds of the wealth generated by shale energy
are shared with the communities affected”.
Has that happened yet?
-
The noble Lord will know that there is no active fracking at
the moment but I am pleased that he spent the Recess reading
the Conservative Party manifesto. The important thing is that
advances in technology are happening all the time, and
fracking will be an important part of our energy security
going forward. For example, the noble Lord may have seen
recently that superhydrophilic filters have now been
invented. They remove 90% of the hydrocarbons, bacteria and
particulates from any post-hydraulic fracturing feed. These
are all good things. I think that we should support fracking
and of course make sure that the local communities benefit
too.
-
(Con)
Further to my noble friend’s comments in relation to
Scotland, does she not recognise that Grangemouth refinery is
in part dependent on such gas supplies? The SNP welcome it,
yet it has now said that it is not willing to have such
supplies developed and researched in Scotland.
-
I agree with my noble friend. I said that it was a great
shame about Scotland, but we must recognise that Scotland has
a 50-year history and heritage of oil and gas exploration and
drilling. It is a great shame that it will not be
participating in this and a great shame that Grangemouth will
potentially suffer.
-
(Lab)
My Lords, the Lancashire PCC sought help from the Home Office
to pay for the extra costs of policing fracking protests
following a government decision overruling Lancashire County
Council. This request has so far been declined, and the
Minister for Policing has stated that,
“there is no central government funding stream available”.
Can the Government say whether the Lancashire PCC, who is
responsible for the county’s police force’s budget, has the
statutory power, if he so chooses to use it, to instruct his
chief constable not to provide policing in connection with
the fracking protests until such time as the Government agree
to help with the additional expenditure incurred on the
grounds that there is no provision within his police force’s
budget for such expenditure and that money is not available
from other parts of his budget? Is the answer yes, he has
those statutory powers, or no?
-
I will have to revert to the noble Lord on whether he has
those statutory powers. However, special grant funding has
been used to support fracking protests before. In 2014,
Sussex got £905,000. Greater Manchester applied for funding
but it was refused because it was not a significant amount of
its budget. However, in the case of Lancashire, the
application for £3.1 million is still under consideration and
no decision has yet been made.
-
(Lab)
My Lords, one of the attractions of fracking is that it
produces fuel onshore. The noble Baroness will be aware that
over 30% of the energy supply in this country comes across
the sea. As the Government seem intent on scrapping or
selling the bulk of the Royal Navy, does that make fracking
even more important to us in the future?
-
I thank the noble Lord for his intervention and I am pleased
that we got on to the Navy. However, to turn to ships, the
noble Lord raises a very important point. One-third of our
energy demand comes from gas and we currently import a huge
amount of gas. By 2030, we could be importing three-quarters
of the gas that we use. That will come in ships from the US,
which is a very long way away. That is why we need fracking
in our country.
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