Plans for a Shale Wealth Fund were announced in last year's autumn statement with proceeds expected to be shared between community trusts and local authorities. However, the Shale Wealth Fund Consultation launched on 8 August 2016 includes the possibility of funds being paid directly to local residents in host areas.

It is proposed that communities could receive up to 10% of tax revenues derived from shale exploration in their area with the new fund potentially delivering up to £10 million per eligible community.

The consultation emphasises that the purpose of the Shale Wealth Fund is to ensure that "the benefits of shale developments are shared by communities and regions in which the resource is developed" and "that the benefits of shale will go to local people first, and individuals and communities who host developments will be directly involved in the decision making about how the tax revenues from shale are spent."

If you agree or disagree with the concept of fracking for shale gas, then the government are consulting on the Shale Wealth Fund until the 25th October. Responses can be by letter, email or through the internet by survey monkey. All the links for replies can also be found within the short consultation document.

If you are against fracking in the UK, then you can find arguments to put in the consultation in this Greenpeace fracking article.