On 13 January 2014, the UK Prime Minister announced that the local councils in the U.K. that approve shale gas developments will be able to retain 100 percent of business rates collected from local shale gas sites, doubling the current 50 percent that can be retained. The business rates are a local property tax that together with government funding provides most of the income of local authorities.
Additionally, the shale gas industry is expected to set out proposals on how to secure a role for U.K. companies as part of the supply chain as shale gas production develops in the U.K. These measures are intended as an incentive for shale gas production which has encountered opposition from environmentalists.
