§ 37. Mr. Emrys Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what request he has received from the burgh of Maybole for financial assistance in respect of the burgh's new sewage purification works; and what was the nature of his reply.
§ Mr. J. StuartFive requests for grant under the Rural Water Supplies and Sewerage Act, 1944, have been made since the scheme was first submitted to me in April, 1951. On each occasion grant had to be refused as the burgh cannot be regarded as a rural locality in the sense of the Acts.
§ Mr. HughesIs the Minister aware that he is putting difficulties in the way of a small but enterprising town council dealing with the purification of its 1837 sewage? Does not he think that to prevent a town council from having a decent sewerage system is rather a retrograde step in these days?
§ Mr. StuartI do not wish to prevent it from having a decent sewerage system. But I cannot agree that under the Acts a burgh with a population of nearly 5,000 can be regarded as a rural area.