tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/lancashire-18310/articlesLancashire – The Conversation2023-12-01T14:06:47Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2189742023-12-01T14:06:47Z2023-12-01T14:06:47ZWhy some people from the north of England end up leaving everything to King Charles when they die<p>What connects an ex-miner and lifelong republican, who once manned the protest lines at Orgreave, with King Charles III? The surprising answer, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/23/turn-in-his-grave-the-dead-whose-assets-went-to-king-charles-estate">the Guardian reported</a>, is that the ex-miner’s estate now forms part of a fund which generates private income for the monarch. </p>
<p>The reason is the legal principle of <em><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia">bona vacantia</a></em>. This is loosely translated as “ownerless goods” and refers to a process through which the estates of people who die without heirs in England and Wales are claimed by the crown. </p>
<p>The principle of <em>bona vacantia</em> operates when a person dies in England and Wales without leaving a valid will disposing of all of their assets and there is no heir to their estate under the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will">intestacy rules</a>. These rules, set out in the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/23/contents">Administration of Estates Act 1925</a>, set out the classes of people who can inherit the property of an intestate (or partially intestate) person. </p>
<p>These classes are ranked and then gone through in order to see if an heir can be found. In broad terms, no surviving relative further away from the deceased than a first cousin can inherit. Remoter family members are generally excluded. When no one closer than a cousin can be found, the unclaimed part of the estate (the <em>bona vacantia</em>) passes to, and is collected by, the crown. </p>
<p>Most of these estates are claimed by the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/people/susanna-mcgibbon">Treasury solicitor</a>, the government legal department which handles the administration of the estate and then passes the surplus to the government for its general expenditure. </p>
<p>However, the estates of people who died resident in the historic County Palatine of Lancaster (including greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire and the Furness area of Cumbria) pass under the <em>bona vacantia</em> rules to the Duke of Lancaster. That is, the current reigning monarch, King Charles. </p>
<p>The estates collected by the Duchy of Lancaster are incorporated into its private estate of land, property and assets, with the function of providing private income for the monarch. </p>
<p>This is an extremely ancient power, dating back to a 1377 grant made by Edward III to John of Gaunt when he was Duke of Lancaster. Today, it is part of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/23/contents">Administration of Estates Act 1925</a>. </p>
<p>A similar rule applies to the estates of those dying within the county of Cornwall. These estates pass to the Duke of Cornwall, who is also the Prince of Wales, Charles’s son, William.</p>
<p>Although many of these unclaimed estates are not large, the aggregate sums received by the duchies are considerable. The Guardian reports that over the past ten years, the Duchy of Lancaster alone <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/24/kings-estate-facing-questions-over-14m-in-bona-vacantia-not-donated-to-charity">has collected around £61.8 million</a>. </p>
<p>The Treasury solicitor and the two duchies will advertise for any entitled relatives to come forward, and will make transfers to those entitled under the heirship rules. All three also have a discretion to make payments from the estate to those who may have a legitimate claim on it otherwise than through heirship, particularly under the provisions of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63">Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975</a>. </p>
<p>These include carers for the deceased person, or cohabitants. Some of the remainder is used for investment and to maintain duchy assets, and the surplus given to charity. </p>
<h2>A controversial change apparently benefits King Charles</h2>
<p>Many people are broadly aware, and broadly satisfied, that if they die without heirs, their property will go to the state in the form of the crown. However, when the Law Commission last consulted on the principles of intestacy and <em>bona vacantia</em> in 2011, some public unease about the point was detected. </p>
<p>A significant minority thought that the rule was anachronistic and that unclaimed assets should be given <a href="https://lawcom.gov.uk/document/intestacy-and-family-provision-claims-on-death-report/">directly to charity</a>. The Law Commission did not take this up, in part because the latest available reports and accounts at that time showed that the net proceeds of <em>bona vacantia</em> in both duchies passed entirely to charity.</p>
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<img alt="A row of houses in a northern English village next to a bridge." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Property in an area of the Duchy of Lancaster.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Fencewood Studio</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The Guardian’s reporting has now revealed that there was an apparent significant shift in the administration of the Duchy of Lancaster’s funds in 2020. One particularly controversial change has been the alleged use of money to improve historic property within the Duchy’s portfolio, which is then rented out for profit. </p>
<p>The paper has also raised questions about how much of the duchy’s income is currently being paid to charitable causes, as this appears to have dropped. </p>
<p>There is the further question of whether it is fair, or relevant, that the estates of those who happen to die resident in Lancashire or Cornwall should become private assets of the monarch or his heir, while those who die resident elsewhere have their estates passed to the British state more generally. </p>
<p>Whatever the resolution of these issues may be, there is a clear message for those who strongly wish their estates to go to charity and not to the crown: make a will. </p>
<p>All wills can be drafted so that if there are no living heirs left, the estate can be given to a charity of the deceased’s choice as a fallback. Many charities offer will writing services which can help. When it comes to legacies, it’s essential to plan ahead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218974/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sheila Hamilton Macdonald does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Legal expert on the obscure law that makes King Charles and Prince Williams the heirs of people who die without wills or close relatives in Lancashire and Cornwall.Sheila Hamilton Macdonald, Senior Lecturer, specialising in Probate, Wills and Land, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1916362022-10-04T15:05:21Z2022-10-04T15:05:21ZFracking: the simple test for whether it should happen in the UK<p>The UK’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, recently <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-takes-next-steps-to-boost-domestic-energy-production">announced</a> the reversal of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-ends-support-for-fracking">2019 ban</a> on fracking. Facing an acute energy crisis, the government want to increase domestic energy production. </p>
<p>According to conventional economic theory, whether or not fracking should occur is simple. If the private benefits exceed the social costs, then fracking companies should be able to obtain local consent by compensating households with cash. If the costs are so large that households cannot be compensated, then fracking should not happen.</p>
<p>Yet in recent history fracking has occurred irrespective of whether there is a public appetite. In 2016, the government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/06/uk-fracking-given-go-ahead-as-lancashire-council-rejection-is-overturned">permitted</a> fracking at <a href="https://cuadrillaresources.uk/our-sites/preston-new-road/">Fylde’s Preston New Road site</a>, overturning Lancashire county council’s initial rejection. </p>
<p>The current approach echoes this. Despite <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-63073928">announcing</a> that fracking will only take place where there is local consent, guidance on how this will be gauged is unclear. A framework for transparent cost-benefit analysis on prospective extraction sites has so far <a href="https://www.ukpol.co.uk/jacob-rees-mogg-2022-statement-on-shale-gas-extraction/">not been introduced</a>.</p>
<p>Fracking in the UK has a difficult history. However, if fracking is to play a role in the country’s future, how should it unfold?</p>
<h2>Calculating fracking’s worth</h2>
<p>The first step is to estimate how much companies are willing to pay for the right to explore for and extract shale gas in a given area. This represents fracking’s private benefit. </p>
<p>The introduction of <a href="https://www.itu.int/itunews/issue/2000/09/the_dawn.html">3G mobile communication services</a> in the UK illustrates how this can be done. How much mobile operators valued a license to provide 3G was unknown, but overcharging might have delayed the development of critical communications infrastructure.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/0895330027166">auction</a> was held, allowing mobile operators to bid competitively until each of the five licenses were allocated to the highest bidder. The auction raised £22.5 billion and established precisely how much companies valued the licenses. </p>
<p>Auctions have become regular practice in UK utility markets. Renewable energy companies <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contracts-for-difference/contract-for-difference">compete</a> for contracts to produce electricity. The bidder offering electricity at the lowest price is paid a flat rate for their production over the next fifteen years, insulating them from volatile market prices. </p>
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<img alt="A fishing boat in front of an offshore wind farm against a deep sunset sky." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Auctions have become regular practice in UK utility markets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fishing-boat-wind-turbines-135915140">ShaunWilkinson/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Through a similar process, it would be possible to accurately determine the value of shale gas extraction in the UK. For each potential extraction site, fracking firms could bid competitively for exclusive drilling rights. The winning bid would be legally bound to an upfront payment to the local authority in the case that consent is given.</p>
<h2>Involving local consent</h2>
<p>The second part of the process should then determine whether firms’ valuation of shale gas extraction is higher than the social cost. </p>
<p>The costs associated with fracking are high. Shale gas is mostly methane, a fossil fuel <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-geological-science-of-shale-gas-fracturing">with high carbon emissions</a>. </p>
<p>Its extraction also involves drilling using a high pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals. Fracking in the UK has been <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-47816810">linked</a> to several local earthquakes as a result. The process also produces highly saline <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2018/ew/c7ew00474e">wastewater</a> that must be disposed of. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/should-britain-start-extracting-shale-gas">recent survey</a> shows just 27% of Britons support fracking. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1574685708920528896"}"></div></p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.lancs.live/news/cost-of-living/lancashire-residents-who-back-fracking-24904173">reports</a> indicate that fracking firms are currently <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/about-shale-gas-and-hydraulic-fracturing-fracking/developing-shale-oil-and-gas-in-the-uk#regulation">obtaining consent</a> in Lancashire by negotiating directly with individual households. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0095069622000353">Research</a> into the Texan fracking industry shows that this approach underestimates the social cost. Fracking companies generally have a greater knowledge of their own industry and the legalities of licensing law than households. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A close-up shot of a gas drilling unit in a rugged arid landscape against a cloudy blue sky." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">In Texas, fracking companies obtain consent by negotiating directly with households.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/west-texas-pumping-unit-1104529418">Sean Hannon acritelyphoto/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The researchers also found that factors including language, poverty and race also determined how much compensation a household received. In Texas, non-native English speakers generally received comparatively low compensation, while their contracts were 10% less likely to contain environmental, noise or road traffic clauses.</p>
<p>To avoid this issue, county or city councils could instead grant approval if they deem the compensation offered to local residents as sufficiently high. Councils generally command greater <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2017-11/trust-in-professions-veracity-index-2017-slides.pdf">public trust</a> than national politicians and through local consultations, a more precise estimate of fracking’s cost to local residents can be gauged. </p>
<h2>Does fracking make economic sense?</h2>
<p>By comparing valuations of the costs and benefits, a decision on whether there is a case for fracking can be made. If the industry believes there is an abundance of shale gas to extract, then it may well resume.</p>
<p>However, there are <a href="https://theconversation.com/fracking-if-liz-truss-wants-a-major-shale-gas-industry-she-is-280-million-years-late-190421">doubts</a> over whether Britain has enough shale gas reserves for fracking to become commercially viable. The British Geological Survey <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11653-4.pdf">reported</a> in 2019 that the UK has ten times less shale gas reserves than the level cited by fracking advocates. </p>
<p>Since then, the scientific evidence has not changed and even the UK shale gas industry has recognised fracking’s minimal value. Shale gas executives are <a href="https://twitter.com/DrSimEvans/status/1495699340819668994">cautious</a> not to claim that the UK industry can cut soaring energy bills. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261918301764">Questions</a> remain over the economic viability of UK fracking. However, if it is to have a future then this should be determined by a system of formal compensation and consent. This way, if shale gas extraction in the UK is as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/21/fracking-wont-work-uk-founder-chris-cornelius-cuadrilla">futile</a> as the science suggests, then it will not happen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191636/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Renaud Foucart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fracking in the UK has a difficult history – economic theory suggests that whether fracking should occur is a simple case of consent and compensation.Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1081082018-12-14T16:30:51Z2018-12-14T16:30:51ZMistrust and earthquakes: why Lancashire communities are so shaken by fracking tremors<p>After a month of tranquillity, fracking has resumed at the Preston New Road site near Blackpool triggering the biggest tremor to date.</p>
<p>There have been 12 tremors over a four-day period, including the biggest so far – the 1.5 magnitude quake. In total, <a href="https://earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/recent_uk_events.html">36 earthquakes</a> were recorded in the area between the middle of October and early November. Most of these are too weak to be felt at the surface, but can be measured using seismometers. These are instruments that measure ground motions, caused by such events as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, among other factors.</p>
<p>Local residents are concerned the earthquakes may cause cracks in the fracking well’s casing, which could potentially lead to contamination issues. Some scientists claim the impact of these seismic events at surface is equivalent to <a href="http://datacat.liverpool.ac.uk/609/2/Seismic%20Context%20Measurements.pdf">dropping a melon</a> onto the floor. But government officials and those in the fracking industry have dismissed the tremors – suggesting they are <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Y45hYC9gSBYJ:https://www.kevinhollinrake.org.uk/letter-shale-gas-commissioner-natascha-engel-newspaper-editors%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0eclEJQmvrjNzEK1xTgK2z6AYIsnuazRxDCEA5E_UoeMuxpDhNqatI1J8+&cd=1&hl=pl&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=firefox-b-ab">inconsequential</a>.</p>
<p>As a social scientist living in Lancashire, I have been researching the social impacts of shale gas developments since 2015. From what I have seen, there is much more to the tremors than just ground movements. The impact of the quakes that occurred far below ground reverberated strongly throughout the community living on the surface. To understand why this is the case it is important to understand local people’s experiences of shale gas exploration in the UK.</p>
<h2>Fracking on shaky ground</h2>
<p>The same operator, Cuadrilla, was fracking for shale gas in the area <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48330/5055-preese-hall-shale-gas-fracturing-review-and-recomm.pdf">seven years ago</a>. Two bigger and around 50 smaller earthquakes occurred <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/exclusive-fracking-company-we-caused-50-tremors-in-blackpool-but-were-not-going-to-stop-6256397.html">over an eight-month period</a> as a result of injecting fluid into a geological fault zone. </p>
<p>In 2018 – and under <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-light-monitoring-system-shale-gas-and-fracking">new seismicity controls</a> – Cuadrilla was required to halt its fracking operations twice when the monitoring equipment detected tremors bigger than 0.5 local magnitude. The system was introduced to set “gold standard” regulations for this new industry. After the quakes, Cuadrilla’s CEO <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/cb36ad4e-dc5e-11e8-9f04-38d397e6661c">warned</a> that making fracking commercially viable would be extremely challenging under the existing seismic monitoring system in the UK. He wanted the government to reconsider its position on seismic monitoring within weeks. </p>
<p>Weeks passed by, the activity at the site was subdued for a month and no further seismic events were recorded until December 10 2018. Cuadrilla did not publicly confirm it had suspended hydraulic fracturing between early November and December. But it did say it was planning to engage with the regulators to <a href="http://www.aspecthuntley.com.au/asxdata/20181129/pdf/02054010.pdf">change the upper limit</a> on seismic monitoring.</p>
<h2>On high alert</h2>
<p>In the Blackpool area, earthquakes have been on everyone’s radar. Many local residents refresh the British Geological Survey website that records all recent earthquakes in the country almost hourly. At the observation point at Preston New Road known as the “gate camp”, protesters watch and listen carefully for the signs of fracking activity, proudly asserting: “This is the most watched site in the UK.”</p>
<p>The reason they are watching so carefully is because they have serious concerns about how regulatory monitoring and corporate transparency works. Take the seismic monitoring system which was originally designed to reassure communities they would be protected from harm. After Cuadrilla’s recent announcements, the prospect of relaxing the seismic controls seems real.</p>
<p>For local communities, new seismic thresholds would not be just numbers, but a sign that politicians are willing to further extend the industry’s authority over society. Relaxing regulations because they make business more difficult is a narrowly economic rationale – there’s certainly nothing democratic about it. This is the palpable sense of injustice you get when you talk to people at the side of Preston New Road. </p>
<h2>Environment of mistrust</h2>
<p>In my experience, the regular liaison meetings with the company and regulators do little to reassure the local communities. Instead, they have made residents dissociate transparency from openness. In their view, the liaison meetings, consultations and the lengthy planning process have become a field of corporate practice. They limit residents’ ability to determine their common future – but the process provides the industry with a veneer of democratic legitimacy. </p>
<p>What this generates for local residents are <a href="https://annaszolucha.wordpress.com/research/repower-democracy/report/">feelings of disenfranchisement</a> and distrust – and a sense of social injustice. This is why the impact of the earthquakes can’t be separated from the social reality on the surface.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250097/original/file-20181211-76974-1t3682s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250097/original/file-20181211-76974-1t3682s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250097/original/file-20181211-76974-1t3682s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250097/original/file-20181211-76974-1t3682s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250097/original/file-20181211-76974-1t3682s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250097/original/file-20181211-76974-1t3682s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250097/original/file-20181211-76974-1t3682s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fence art at the Preston New Road site in Lancashire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anna Szolucha</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For local communities, there is an implicit analogy between the fracking pad with its well bore that extends kilometres out of sight and underground and the non-transparent ways in which the UK government and the industry are perceived to impose hydraulic fracturing on local populations. </p>
<p>Residents worry that the same attitude that the government and industry espouse on the surface, would also govern the way they tackle potential problems that arise underground – as a result of fracking.</p>
<p>Of course, it is true that any new industry – such as shale gas exploration – is bound to face hurdles as it tries to identify suitable operational procedures. But to understand why communities in Lancashire have found it so difficult to trust government agencies and industry, it’s important to consider how seismic events operate in the reality of social, rather than merely geological, environments.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108108/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Szolucha receives funding from Natural Environment Research Council and Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p>A researcher looking at the social impacts of shale gas developments, explains why there’s much more to the Blackpool tremors than just ground movements.Anna Szolucha, Research fellow, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/611772016-06-22T14:33:39Z2016-06-22T14:33:39ZFunding cuts could leave victims of domestic violence with nowhere to go<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127732/original/image-20160622-7191-vsnyz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Right across England and Wales, local councils have been coping with successive cuts to their budgets for the past six years. Between 2010 and 2015, cuts to local councils <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5fcbd0c4-2948-11e5-8db8-c033edba8a6e.html#axzz4BpONBJ2V">amounted to £18 billion</a> in real terms, and a further £9.5 billion is expected to be slashed by 2020. Inevitably, public services suffer as councils try to absorb these shocks. And when public services suffer, so do the people who rely on them for support and protection. </p>
<p>For instance, Lancashire County Council announced in February that it needs to <a href="http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/council/finance/budget.aspx">save £262m</a> over the next four years. A portion of this is to be taken from the budget that sustains Lancashire’s nine refuges, which provide safe accommodation and support for women and children who are experiencing, or at risk from domestic violence and abuse (DVA). </p>
<p>It is impossible to fully account for the immense human and emotional costs of such abuse, but we do know that the scale of the problem is huge; it represents <a href="https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/improving-the-police-response-to-domestic-abuse.pdf">8% of all crime</a>. Currently, two women are <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice">killed each week</a> by their current or former partner in England and Wales. In the year to March 2015, 1.3m women and 600,000 men reported that they had experienced domestic abuse – <a href="https://theconversation.com/official-statistics-mask-extent-of-domestic-violence-in-the-uk-43087">research suggests</a> that the real figure could be 60% higher. </p>
<h2>Safe spaces</h2>
<p>Against this backdrop, the value of refuges is undeniable. They provide provide a safe space for women and children, as well as support which can help prevent further abuse, harm and homicide. Without council funding, the refuges across Lancashire will have to find alternative sources of income. If they cannot, they may need to significantly reduce their service provision, or even close down completely. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, there are no clear reports about how much the cuts to refuges and other DVA-related services will save the taxpayer, or the council itself. Indeed, the high economic cost of this type of violence – in terms of the demands it places on public services – is <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/doc_library/sociology/Cost_of_domestic_violence_update.doc">widely acknowledged</a>. </p>
<p>And although <a href="https://www.change.org/p/lancashire-county-council-stop-funding-cuts-to-lancashire-refuges">a public petition</a> against withdrawing funds from these services has exceeded 8,000 signatures, the council has not reconsidered its position. It is undeniably shortsighted for the council to pass government cuts onto valuable community services.</p>
<h2>Blame game</h2>
<p>Since the announcement the prime minister, David Cameron, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-36038731">has “urged”</a> the council to “do the right thing”. But in fact, local authorities have no statutory obligation to provide refuge accommodation. Cameron’s words mask the real issue at play here: the lack of stable, longer-term funding for DVA services. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127731/original/image-20160622-7181-12wbaq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127731/original/image-20160622-7181-12wbaq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127731/original/image-20160622-7181-12wbaq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127731/original/image-20160622-7181-12wbaq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127731/original/image-20160622-7181-12wbaq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127731/original/image-20160622-7181-12wbaq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127731/original/image-20160622-7181-12wbaq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unhelpful.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/number10gov/26280058862/sizes/l">The Prime Minister's Office/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/32-million-funding-to-help-victims-of-domestic-violence-and-abuse">has pledged</a> millions of pounds to end DVA – as well as funding for early intervention work, to help prevent future cases. But a <a href="http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/research/publication/professor-sylvia-walby-reports-on-the-impact-of-cuts-on-violence-against-women-services/">2012 study</a> found that cuts to national budgets have led to reductions in the provision of services at a local level, despite the introduction of these new national funding streams. Most importantly, the researchers also asserted that reduced services were likely to lead to higher levels of DVA. In light of this evidence, the government’s funding arrangements seem rather self-defeating.</p>
<p>More recently, Polly Neate, chief executive of <a href="https://www.womensaid.org.uk/about-us/">Women’s Aid</a> – a national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children – issued <a href="https://www.womensaid.org.uk/womens-aid-statement-on-budget-2016/">a word of caution</a> about the £15m of funding that is to be made available to women’s charities from the UK’s <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/axe-tampon-tax-protesters-gather-outside-parliament-to-push-for-government-pledges-to-cut-vat-on-a7041516.html">“tampon tax”</a> (a 5% VAT charge on sanitary products). </p>
<p>In particular, Neate noted that smaller DVA charities lack the capacity to make competitive applications for funding, which take time and skill. She also highlighted the other, more subtle impacts of austerity measures on DVA victims, such as the housing benefit cap, which can mean that women who lack the resources to move out have limited choices beyond remaining in violent and abusive homes. </p>
<h2>The Norwegian method</h2>
<p>It’s always worth looking at how other countries tackle social problems – especially when it comes to deciding whose duty it is to protect the vulnerable members of society. Take Norway, for example: in 2010, the nation <a href="http://www.evaw-global-database.unwomen.org/en/countries/europe/norway/2010/law-introducing-a-statutory-municipal-duty-to-provide-shelter-services-2010">passed a law</a> which requires each municipality to create and follow an action plan, which includes providing refuge accommodation to those who need it, regardless of gender (in separate facilities). </p>
<p>So, right across the country, each municipality is responsible for making sure that no one in the local population is made homeless because of DVA, or forced to remain stuck in violent homes without the option to leave. This approach ensures that support services such as refuges secure regular funding, and that victims are not subject to a postcode lottery when seeking help. </p>
<p>Likewise, local councils in England should have a legal obligation to provide refuges and other DVA support to all victims – largely women and children, but also men, LGBTQ people and other groups who are affected by DVA. More importantly, giving local authorities a statutory duty would require central government to provide ringfenced funding. This might then enable DVA services to get on with the real task at hand: supporting the victims.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61177/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michaela Rogers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cuts to local councils are being passed onto domestic violence services – here’s what we need to do to prevent it.Michaela Rogers, Lecturer in Social Work, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/555362016-03-11T12:21:36Z2016-03-11T12:21:36ZShould fracking decisions be made locally?<p>The future role of gas in the UK is the subject of significant debate. There is controversy <a href="http://www.ukerc.ac.uk/news/role-of-gas-as-bridge-to-a-low-carbon-future-in-the-uk-is-limited-new-research-finds.html">about how much gas we could use and for how long</a>, and whether this will be compatible with statutory climate change targets. As North Sea supplies decline, there are also starkly differing views about whether some of the gas we will need in future should come from domestic shale gas resources.</p>
<p>Despite the number of headlines about shale gas, there has been very little development activity so far. Fracking for shale gas has only been carried out at one site near Blackpool, where operations by Cuadrilla <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/8864669/Cuadrilla-admits-drilling-caused-Blackpool-earthquakes.html">caused minor earthquakes in 2011</a>. This means that it is almost impossible to determine whether significant UK shale gas production would make economic sense. The recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-oil-and-gas-companies-are-dealing-with-low-prices-52928">falls in oil</a> and gas prices have added to this uncertainty, but are likely to make commercial viability more challenging.</p>
<p>During the recent <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-onshore-oil-and-gas-licences-offered">14th licensing round</a> for onshore oil and gas, 159 areas were awarded licenses for development – 75% of these were for unconventional oil and gas extraction, which has sparked local debates in many of the <a href="http://www.ukoog.org.uk/onshore-extraction/where-we-operate">affected areas</a>.</p>
<p>Two planning applications submitted by Cuadrilla for exploration at sites in Lancashire <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-35522919">were recently turned down</a> by the local council on the grounds of noise and traffic. One of these was refused against the advice of council officers. An appeal by Cuadrillia is currently underway. Whether or not it goes in favour of the council or the developer, it raises broader questions about the role of local democracy and decision-making. </p>
<p>Last August the government announced the introduction of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/faster-decision-making-on-shale-gas-for-economic-growth-and-energy-security">fast-track planning</a> regulations designed to limit the length of local planning processes for unconventional oil and gas operations. Greg Clark, the secretary of state for communities and local government, also said he expects to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/27/lancashire-fracking-shale-gas-drilling-cuadrilla-greg-clark">have the final say</a> over the Lancashire applications. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">What is Fracking?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This intention to constrain local planning processes has understandably led to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/09/lancashire-county-council-fracking-cuadrilla-public-inquiry">concerns about local democracy</a>. It is not the first time national government has tried to <a href="http://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1384841/government-intends-extend-its-ability-intervene-local-plans">intervene in local decision-making</a>, especially when it comes to the development of new large-scale infrastructures or natural resources.</p>
<p>While national government may emphasise a particular course of action, like the development of shale gas, there is no guarantee that local decision-makers will simply agree. Furthermore, selective limits on local planning risk exacerbating public mistrust. A Sciencewise project on <a href="http://www.sciencewise-erc.org.uk/cms/assets/Uploads/Publicengagementwithshalegasandoil.pdf">public engagement with shale gas and oil</a>, commissioned by the government, revealed significant unease among participants about decision-making processes. </p>
<h2>A waste of energy?</h2>
<p>Given that large-scale changes to energy infrastructures are very likely to be required across the UK as the <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/the-fifth-carbon-budget-the-next-step-towards-a-low-carbon-economy/">energy system decarbonises</a>, this issue goes well beyond shale gas. <a href="http://www.northdevonjournal.co.uk/Countryside-campaigners-delighted-Bideford-wind/story-28859719-detail/story.html">Local opposition has also been significant</a> for other energy developments such as wind farms, solar farms, gas storage sites and electricity transmission lines.</p>
<p>The government’s approach to different energy sources appears to be inconsistent – most notably between onshore wind and shale gas. In contrast with the approach for shale, local planners will determine whether new onshore wind projects go ahead or not. Ministers have defended this situation on the grounds that a lot of wind farms are already being deployed, while shale gas is at a very early stage. </p>
<p>Although the government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-attitudes-tracking-survey">regular energy opinion poll</a> no longer asks specific questions about onshore wind, other polls suggest it still has significant public support - as well as being the cheapest low carbon electricity generation technology.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113959/original/image-20160306-17765-1jhfop0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113959/original/image-20160306-17765-1jhfop0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113959/original/image-20160306-17765-1jhfop0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113959/original/image-20160306-17765-1jhfop0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113959/original/image-20160306-17765-1jhfop0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113959/original/image-20160306-17765-1jhfop0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113959/original/image-20160306-17765-1jhfop0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Where should our energy come from?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://static.pexels.com/photos/8717/food-pot-kitchen-cooking.jpg">Pexels</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The focus on shale and wind could also be a missed opportunity for a broader conversation about the UK’s sustainable energy transition. This conversation should not be restricted to which technologies or resources should be used, and what they might cost. <a href="http://www.ukerc.ac.uk/programmes/energy-supply/transforming-the-uk-energy-system-public-values-attitudes-and-acceptability.html">Previous research</a> from the UK Energy Research Centre suggests that people are also interested in how energy systems can reflect values such as fairness, sustainability and efficiency. A focus on individual sources like shale gas in isolation leaves little space for this broader conversation to be held.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55536/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The UK Energy Research Centre is funded by three UK Research Councils: EPSRC, ESRC and NERC.</span></em></p>There’s a bunfight about whether local or national government should call the shots when it comes to fracking.Jim Watson, Research Director, UK Energy Research CentreLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/440472015-06-30T13:50:11Z2015-06-30T13:50:11ZLancashire fracking refusals may be no red light to the industry – here’s why<p>Big news from Lancashire in north England: the county council has rejected two planning applications to develop shale gas sites in recent days, the first in four years. Lancashire councillors’ decisions to reject planning applications by Cuadrilla at <a href="http://www.cityam.com/218887/cuadrilla-fails-first-lancashire-fracking-site-bid">Roseacre Wood</a> (June 25) and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/plans-to-start-fracking-in-lancashire-rejected-by-local-councillors-10352527.html">Little Plumpton</a> (June 29) against the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-33313084">conditional</a> approval of planning officers is a major blow for the industry. For reasons I will outline, though, it may not yet to lead to a national defeat. </p>
<p>The decision is unlikely to resolve any of the bigger and still outstanding public health issues surrounding unconventional gas extraction (as well as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14432401">fracked shale gas</a>, this also includes <a href="http://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/cretaceous/coalbed.html">coal-bed methane</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26921145">underground coal gasification</a>). When it comes to the possible hazards, the scientific, regulatory and legal knowledge and opinion are both conflicting and conflicted. Such fears have led many communities, including a number of those in the relevant parts of Lancashire, to oppose fracking applications in their area.</p>
<h2>Fracking: the debate</h2>
<p>There is a <a href="http://news.discovery.com/earth/global-warming/fracking-makes-climate-change-worse-not-better-141015.htm">growing scientific consensus</a> that unconventional gas extraction in all its forms will contribute significantly to global climate change, which obviously has long-term public health effects. It <a href="http://www.abc-clio.com/Praeger/product.aspx?pc=A4428C">might also</a> cause water and air pollution, though industry voices <a href="http://www.oilgasmonitor.com/environmental-groups-lost-war-fracking/7292/">disagree</a>. </p>
<p>There <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/283837/Seismic_v3.pdf">are also fears</a> about subsidence in coal-mining areas with a history of abandoned seams, and earthquakes, both of which <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/283837/Seismic_v3.pdf">have been</a> played down by the government. Another concern is around <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-29944212">mental health and well-being</a>. </p>
<p>It doesn’t help that research on unconventional gas extraction <a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/features/fracking-research-playing-with-fire/2007351.fullarticle">has been</a> heavily conflicted and fraught with evidence of substantial conflicts of interest in the US. Environmental groups and journalists <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/09/fracking-big-gas-university-research">have even</a> coined the term “frackademia” to refer to universities winning contracts to undertake research for the companies involved. </p>
<p>The UK government has meanwhile insisted that the industry <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/14/uk-defeats-european-bid-fracking-regulations">will be</a> well regulated and that industry practice will be good. This is contrary to <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/law/people/joanne-e-hawkins/pub/35576171">some research voices</a>, while other governments have taken a very different view, with bans in <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/german-cabinet-approves-anti-fracking-draft-law-1427896555">Germany</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24489986">France</a>. </p>
<p>For their part, <a href="http://www.ineos.com/articles/inch-issue-4-2013/material-gain/">developers argue</a> that unconventional gas extraction will be vital to meet our energy needs, at least in the medium term, as well as supplying feedstocks for the chemical industry and creating many jobs and prosperity for communities. </p>
<h2>Public health to the margins</h2>
<p>When it comes to developing policy for the industry, communities and activists argue that public-health considerations have been marginalised. The 2012 <a href="http://www.raeng.org.uk/publications/reports/shale-gas-extraction-in-the-uk">Royal Society report</a> on unconventional gas extraction prepared by engineers and geologists contained no public-health experts in its working group and made minimal in-depth mention of public-health issues either. </p>
<p>A Scottish-government <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0045/00456579.pdf">expert report</a> published last year drew on this 2012 report and neither contained any experts on public health nor any independent experts on regulation or industry practice. Neither report <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3339470/pdf/ehp.1104594.pdf">learned from</a> US failures to include public-health professionals either. </p>
<p>When agencies like <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/329744/PHE-CRCE-002_for_website_protected.pdf">Public Health England</a> have reported on the prospects for unconventional gas extraction, they have tended to reflect the favourable assessments of these other bodies – as well as those of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/about-shale-gas-and-hydraulic-fracturing-fracking">UK government itself</a>. The Public Health England report contained nothing on the wider public-health impacts via global climate change; nothing on socio-economic impacts, which have important health consequences; and nothing on work environments. These are serious gaps that need to be filled in. </p>
<p>American public-health professionals with practical experience of fracking <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g2728">said that</a> claims in the report that the public-health problems related to the industry in the US such as poor regulation and bad industry practice would not apply in the UK were a “leap of faith unsubstantiated by scientific evidence”. They pointed out that the conclusions ignored the “inherent industry risks whatever regulation applies (casing failures, cement failures, waste and water spillage)” and argued the report overlooked the <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g2728.long">evidence about</a> extra risks in heavily populated areas. </p>
<h2>Conflicting interests</h2>
<p>In this climate, decision-makers are being encouraged to turn a blind eye to the potential public-health issues. In Lancashire, for instance, newspaper reports suggest that the councillors were <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/lancashire-councillors-prevented-from-blocking-proposals-for-uks-first-fracking-site-says-council-member-10346293.html?origin=internalSearch">coming under pressure</a> linked to the legal ramifications of approving and not approving the applications. </p>
<p>The impending <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32691589">Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership</a> could make such considerations <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/what-is-ttip-and-six-reasons-why-the-answer-should-scare-you-9779688.html">even more significant</a>, if companies get the right to challenge local authorities or even governments over fracking bans. In this arena, public health risks being subordinated to company profits. Some planners have also suggested to me that local councils may in future not be able to consider any health factors in these decisions because they will be dealt with separately by regulatory agencies. </p>
<p>One other issue is also worth mentioning. The environmental statements that have to be included in all planning applications can contain narrow assessments of the potential health impacts of unconventional gas extraction. They ought to fully inform the planners about all the risks and benefits of the proposal. </p>
<p>They <a href="http://www.abc-clio.com/Praeger/product.aspx?pc=A4428C">are not</a> required to consider global climate-change issues, for instance, and have often focused just on noise and traffic. The quality and scope of the health-impact assessments in the US has varied a great deal – from the <a href="http://www.garfield-county.com/public-health/documents/1%20%20%20Complete%20HIA%20without%20Appendix%20D.pdf">detailed and rigorous</a> to the <a href="http://www.apha.org/advocacy/policy/policysearch/default.htm?id=1439">superficial</a>. The assessments are also conducted by consultants who are mostly paid for by either interested companies or local authorities, which rarely if ever reach conclusions that conflict with the interests of who is paying. Community groups can rarely afford to pay for such reports. </p>
<p>Notwithstanding the Lancashire decisions, the challenge now facing the UK remains to ensure an independent, thorough, transparent and rigorous public-health impact assessment of unconventional gas extraction. This has to be conducted at national level, free of industry and commercial influences and capable of convincing the public of its lack of bias. </p>
<p>It <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969715000078">should not</a> rely on “theoretical solutions” but should draw on the best empirical evidence available, while acknowledging the potential shortcomings of the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/law/people/joanne-e-hawkins/pub/35576171">UK’s regulatory system</a>. For many, it should rely on the <a href="http://www.sehn.org/precaution.html">precautionary principle</a> against going ahead while there are uncertainties. That is arguably the only way to protect public health.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44047/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Watterson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Those against shale gas extraction have scored a couple of wins in the north-west of England, but industry-government-researcher collusion may yet win the day.Andrew Watterson, Chair in Health Effectiveness, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.