§ 4. Mr. HENDERSON STEWARTasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware of the unrest prevalent among Scottish herring fishermen at the present time, due partly to the misunderstanding of, and partly to anxiety about, the future policy of the Herring Industry Board; and if, in order to remove such misunderstanding and anxiety, he will urge the chairman of the Herring Industry Board to make a full statement in public in Scotland regarding the policy of the Board for the immediate future and, in broad terms, over the next two or three years?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for SCOTLAND (Sir Godfrey Collins)Representations on the matters mentioned in the first part of the question have been made to me and my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, and we are receiving a deputation from the Herring Industry to-morrow. I understand that the Chairman of the Herring Industry Board has recently published a statement about the present policy of the board and that, while the policy to be followed over a period of years must necessarily depend largely on the course of economic events, it is the intention of the board to take all practicable means of publicly explaining the board's policy.
Mr. STEWARTIs the Minister not aware that the recent statement of the Chairman of the board to which he refers did not in any way relieve the anxiety, or indeed deal with these particular matters, particularly the fear of the fishermen that the main policy of the board is a drastic reduction of the fleet?
§ Sir G. COLLINSI have no doubt that the representatives of the herring industry will submit these points to my right hon. Friend and myself to-morrow. I can assure the hon. Member that we shall go closely into the points which he has raised.
§ 9. Mr. BOOTHBYasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has considered the resolution passed at the recent meeting of representatives of the herring industry held in Aberdeen; whether he is prepared to receive the proposed deputation; and what further 704 action His Majesty's Government propose to take to deal with the present plight of the industry?
§ Sir G. COLLINSI have received the resolution mentioned in the first part of the question, and ray right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and I have arranged to receive the deputation from the herring industry to-morrow. With regard to the last part of the question, I think it will be preferable not to make any statement until we have heard the case put forward by the deputation.