§ 44. Mr. THOMAS RAMSAYasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that the construction of the Strond-Borrisdale road at a cost of £5,500 was part of a memorandum put before the Scottish Office and the Ministry of Transport by the county council of Inverness-shire on 16th April; that a man suffering from peritonitis died when being transported along the footpath serving these townships; and that men were hurriedly called away on 11th May from the graveyard, leaving the dead unburied, to carry a maternity case in labour from Strond to Rodel in order to get transport by road to the hospital at Stornoway, 60 miles distant, and that the baby was still-born; and will he state when he proposes to get the said road constructed?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for SCOTLAND (Mr. Skelton)The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regard the second and third parts the only information which my right hon. Friend has, received is a telegram drawing his attention to the maternity case referred to, and he has called for a report on the subject. As regards the last part, my right hon. Friend explained to the deputation which he received on the 16th April that the initiative in the matter of providing the road in question rests with the county council. Any application which the council may make for assistance will receive careful consideration.