HC Deb 13 June 1961 vol 642 c188
31. Mr. Willis

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what further progress has been made in the purification of the River Esk, Midlothian.

Mr. Maclay

Nearly all the sewage works in the Esk Valley have now been modernised or connected to the regional sewer. Pollution of the river by industrial effluent is still serious, but the Lothians River Purification Board has secured the co-operation of the firms concerned and assures me that all are now actively engaged on improvement measures.

Mr. Willis

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I have been getting similar Answers for the last two or three years and that the river is still in as bad a condition as ever? It smells and it is dirty. Is it not time that something much more effective was done and that the people could see that it had been done?

Mr. Maclay

I am informed that real progress is being made in sewerage. Industrial effluent still causes trouble, but, as the hon. Member knows, this is no easy matter. There is real co-operation to try to achieve improvement.