PLANS for a permanent ban on fracking will be set out in Holyrood today by a Labour MSP.
The party’s environment spokeswoman Claudia Beamish will this morning announce her decision to press ahead with a Member’s Bill to outlaw the controversial practice across Scotland.
The Scottish Government introduced a moratorium on the gas extraction technique in January 2015 and have commissioned research into its impact on people’s health and the environment before taking any further steps.
At First Minister’s Questions earlier this month Nicola Sturgeon revealed ministers had received around 60,000 responses.
Sturgeon told MSPs her government remains committed to making a decision on whether or not to ban fracking by the end of this year.
But Labour believes SNP ministers have not gone far enough and point to a vote in Holyrood earlier this year in which MSPs voted in favour of banning the technique.
“People across Scotland are also rightly concerned about the potential health implications of unconventional oil and gas extraction,” said Beamish.
Last night Friends of the Earth Scotland welcomed the introduction of Beamish’s bill.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The Scottish Government has undertaken one of the world’s most wide ranging investigations into unconventional oil and gas.
“The Scottish Government has put in place a moratorium on ‘fracking’ which means no projects can currently take place here.
“We have said all along that the people of Scotland must have their say and those who took the time to take part in our consultation deserve to be heard.
“That’s why a decision on the future of unconventional oil and gas will only be made after the responses to our consultation have been independently analysed, published and the Scottish Parliament has had an opportunity to vote on the recommendation we make.’’
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