Murray: use new wealth fund to retrain North Sea workers

Susan Murray, Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dunbartonshire, has called on the Government to put retraining for those working in the oil industry at the heart of its plans for the future of the North Sea.

Speaking in the House of Commons after this week’s announcement on the Jackdaw gas field, Ms Murray asked the Minister:

“The Minister says that officials are starting talks with industry leaders on refreshing the North Sea transition deal. Will the Minister commit to putting money to retraining offshore workers, such as those in my constituency of Mid Dunbartonshire, at the core of that deal, funded by money from the new wealth fund?”

This week the Government agreed that gas production can go ahead at the Jackdaw oilfield, off the coast of Aberdeen. It also launched a new Energy Wealth Fund, starting with £2 billion from the Treasury and supplemented over time by North Sea oil and gas tax revenue, to invest in renewable and low-carbon energy.

Speaking afterwards, Ms Murray said:

“Thousands of Scots have built their careers around North Sea drilling, including people here in Mid Dunbartonshire. They deserve more than warm words as the industry declines.

“Money raised from the North Sea should help the people who work in it. That means paying for retraining, so offshore workers can move into good jobs in renewables, and building up a supply chain here in Scotland so those jobs are created at home, not overseas.

“The Government must put workers at the heart of the new North Sea deal and use the Energy Wealth Fund to make sure no one is left behind.”