Key North Sea oil and gas decisions should be devolved to Scottish Government, poll finds

A majority of Scots want Holyrood to have the power to make decisions over new North Sea oil and gas licences instead of Westminster, according to new research. Almost three out of five people (58 per cent) said they think the Scottish government should make “most decisions” on drilling licenses, with just a third of the view that such authority should remain with UK ministers, the polling by Ipsos Scotland found. It comes as the UK government is considering whether to give the go ahead for drilling in Rosebank, the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea, which lies to the north of Shetland.

Last week, the UK government moved to ban any new exploration for oil and gas in the North Sea. However, the Energy Independence Bill, which would remove the North Sea Transition Authority's ability to grant new oil and gas licences, will not impact the decision on Rosebank. In findings that will spark debate around the further devolution of powers to Holyrood, the Ipsos Scotland survey also found that a majority of Scots (51 per cent) want the Scottish government to be able to make most decisions around National Insurance, while 38 per cent want power to remain at Westminster.

Meanwhile, 48 per cent want immigration policy to be mostly decided by the Scottish government, with just over two fifths (41 per cent) preferring the UK government to remain in control. Emily Gray, managing director of Ipsos Scotland said that the findings of its latest Scotland Political Pulse research pointed to a “clear public appetite” for more decisions affecting Scotland to be made by the Scottish government. However, she said 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.

With pollsters questioning 1,033 people between 18 September and 28 September, the research found Scottish Labour voters “evenly divided” on which government should make decisions about North Sea licences, with 46 per cent wanting these decisions made by the UK government, while 45 per cent wanted them made by Scottish ministers. The poll showed 54 per cent of Labour voters support decisions over National Insurance charges remaining with Westminster, with 57 per cent agreeing that immigration policy should remain reserved.

Ipsos found public understanding of which responsibilities are currently devolved was “reasonably high,” with a majority of people correctly identifying 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 identify that immigration policy (79 per cent), National Insurance (72 per cent), and North Sea oil and gas drilling licences (71 per cent) were reserved to Westminster.

However, understanding of the existing devolution settlement varied by age, with younger Scots less likely to know the responsibility for decision-making lies. While 43 per cent of 16 to 34 year-olds correctly said that most decisions about NHS services are made by the Scottish government, a further 42 per cent thought the UK government was responsible, with 10 per cent unsure.