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The Economy

One of the success stories of the UK economy has been the north sea oil and gas industry, which has more than 500,000 jobs, has provided a third of corporation tax revenues this year and makes a contribution to the security of our energy supply. The big challenge is that the new companies that have been driving the exploration were reliant on the lending from the banks that has dried up and has still not come back. One proposal from the industry, which we should look constructively at, is to bring forward the tax relief that it receives on exploration so that it is payable up front to encourage more cash flow and to get the industry investing again. That would keep the industry going through this trough so that it is there when the economy picks up.