§ 12. Mr. Malcolm MacMillanasked the Secretary of State for Scotland when work on the North Ford Causeway in the Western Isles is to begin; the estimated total cost; and what financial contribution is to be made by his Department towards this.
§ Mr. Henderson StewartI understand that Inverness County Council has now invited tenders. The estimated total cost of the work is £337,000, of which my Departments will contribute 90 per cent.
§ Mr. MacMillanCan the hon. Gentleman give an assurance that this work will in fact begin as soon as it is possible for the county council to complete all the preliminaries? Will he have regard to the point that the so-called economy envisaged four years ago means that whereas the cost would have been £160,000 on the old estimate, the work will now cost £337,000? Does he realise that to delay any longer means a further dead loss?
§ Mr. StewartOf course that applies to everything done this year which might have been started ten years ago.