§ Q1. Mr. W. Hamiltonasked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the continuing rate of migration from Scotland, he will review the co-ordinating machinery designed to deal with this problem.
§ The Prime Minister (Sir Alec Douglas-Home)The co-ordinating machinery for regional development, of which migration is one aspect, is working well.
§ Mr. W. HamiltonIs the Prime Minister aware teat we can only assume from that Answer that the co-ordinating machinery is working to increase the rate of migration since in the last five years, since 1958–59, migration from Scotland has gone up by 70 per cent., from 20,000 to 34,000? Can he give any guarantee at all to Scotland that the co-ordinating machinery and the policies which have been announced in the immediate past will reduce these numbers substantially in the very near future?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, I very much hope they will. That is the whole purpose of our regional development system.
§ Mr. HamiltonCan the right hon. Gentleman say what policies have been pursued in the last five years which have increased the figure by 70 per cent.?
§ The Prime MinisterI think everybody knows that this migration from Scotland to the South is a very serious matter of which we have got to take notice. I would not try for one moment to minimise that. Certainly not. But we have introduced the most vigorous policies to deal with it.