Treasury officials have met with representatives of the shale gas industry to discuss the introduction of tax breaks at the rate of around twice a month since Chancellor George Osborne announced his intention to provide the nascent fossil fuel industry with one of the most generous tax regimes in the world.

The revelation came in response to a freedom of information request from Friends of the Earth, although the Treasury failed to respond to accompanying requests on the nature of the meetings and the "statistical analysis" it has used to justify the government's proposal to introduce "generous" tax breaks for the industry.

In response to the request the Treasury confirmed that between October last year and the end of June this year Treasury officials and shale gas industry representatives met 19 times. Neither the industry representatives nor the officials at the meetings were named in the disclosure and no information was provided on the nature of the discussions.

The Treasury said the information was exempt from the Freedom of Information Act as it relates to the formulation and development of government policy, could prejudice commercial interests and may be intended for future publication.  MORE