§ 34. Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to encourage further settlement in the Highlands.
§ Mr. Henderson StewartThe policy of the Government is to encourage settlement in the Highlands through the development of Highland resources and services on the lines of the published programme of Highland development.
§ Lord Malcolm Douglas-HamiltonDoes my hon. Friend's office bear in mind the whole time the Land Settlement Report which came out at the end of the late war? Will he disassociate himself from what the Minister of State was reported as saying in his speech at Islay last month, to the effect that the numbers who once lived in the Highlands would never be fully restored?
§ Mr. StewartWe are very fully aware of the desirability of economic and sensible land settlement, and we are eagerly awaiting the report of the Crofting Commission, which may help us in that direction.