§ 36. Sir W. Anstruther-Grayasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give an assurance that the Report on the economic future of the Borders, on which work is now well advanced, will be made public as soon as he receives it.
§ Mr. WillisNo Sir. I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to the Answer my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Perth and East Perthshire (Mr. MacArthur) on 15th March.
§ Sir W. Anstruther-GrayArising out of that reply, will the hon. Gentleman give an assurance that he and his Department will not sit on this Report but, on the contrary, will have it published without delay when it is received?
§ Mr. WillisWe shall not sit on the Report, but we shall not publish it at the moment because we feel that it would be clearly misleading to publish this preliminary study in isolation. The proposals for the economic future of the area could be very important in relation to the needs of the other regions of Scotland and for the national plan.
§ Mr. David SteelWill the hon. Gentleman say whether the study is sufficiently wide to include a review of welfare facilities, including a new hospital?
§ Mr. WillisNo, it is mainly concentrated on the industrial development of the area.