13. Major WOODasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the reason for the delay in dealing with the harbour improvement schemes which were submitted at his urgent request by harbour authorities last autumn; and whether, seeing that unemployment is at its greatest in these fishing centres at the present time, he will say when decisions with regard to the applications may be expected?
Mr. W. ADAMSONThere has been no delay in dealing with applications in cases where definite schemes and plans have been submitted. I must point out that such schemes not only require to be carefully examined by technical experts, but must also be considered on their individual merits and in relation to the fishery harbour problem as a whole. A number of harbour schemes representing a large expenditure have already been sanc- 1662 tioned, and I anticipate that decisions in four or five further cases will be intimated shortly.