§ 89. Mr. HARDIEasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress is being made with land drainage in Scotland; and in what districts such work is being carried out?
§ Lieut.-Colonel COLVILLEAs the answer is a long one I propose, with the hon. Member's consent, to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the answer:
§ A scheme of arterial drainage under the Land Drainage (Scotland) Acts was carried out on the River Annan in 1934 and 1935 and the works were completed recently. A draft scheme has been prepared in respect of the River Clyde at Hyndford Bridge, and the statutory notices have been issued by the Department of Agriculture for Scotland. As the right hon. Member for West Stirlingshire (Mr. Johnston) was informed in reply to a question on the 10th December, the question of proceeding with a scheme for the remedying of flooding in the Valley of the River Kelvin is at present under consideration. As regards field and hill drainage, the total area of land in Scotland improved by drainage during the period from 1921 to 1934 with the help of Government grants is approximately 73,000 acres arable and 1,320,000 pasture. The grants paid in respect of this work amounted to some £242,000. During the current financial year grants totalling £11,000 have been offered in respect of drainage of agricultural land. Applications for grants were received from all counties in Scotland except Clackmannan and West Lothian, the counties with the highest numbers of applications being Dumfries, Caithness, Inverness, Perth, Ayr, Lanark and Argyll.