§ 30. Mr. Rankinasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many river purification authorities are now operating in Scotland; and how many have still to be established.
§ Mr. J. N. BrowneOf the ten river purification boards suggested in the Broun Lindsay Report for the area south of the Caledonian Canal, eight are functioning, one is in the process of being set up and one has not yet been established.
§ Mr. RankinCan the Joint Under-Secretary say which board is in process of being established and which one has not been established? Has he formed any idea how long it will be before this Act, passed in 1951 with a sense of urgency to deal with a very serious abuse, will be in complete operation?
§ Mr. BrowneThe board for the River Tay is in process of being completed, and the board for North and South Esk has not yet been established, as we have not yet come to a decision regarding this small area. As to the question of when the Act will be fully operative, I would 880 say that it has not been easy to meet all the local difficulties in forming different boards. I think that the establishment of nine out of ten is good progress.
§ 31. Mr. Rankinasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many reports he has received from the Scottish River Purification Advisory Committee from its inception to the nearest convenient date.
§ Mr. J. N. BrowneNo formal reports have been received. The Committee has drawn attention to certain administrative matters.
§ Mr. RankinCan the Joint Under-Secretary say how often the Advisory Committee has met, and can he tell us exactly what it is doing?
§ Mr. BrowneThe Committee has met three times since its appointment in November, 1956. I am advised that it has asked the river purification boards to survey their areas and to provide detailed information upon which the Committee can base its recommendations on the control of polluting discharge by the imposition of standards and on methods of treating industrial effluent.