§ 15. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the paragraphs relating to the Cadco project were published in the Annual Report of the Glenrothes Development Corporation; and whether he will make a statement concerning those paragraphs.
§ Mr. RossBecause they were included in the Report for the year ended 31st March, 1964, as submitted by the Development Corporation to my predecessor in May, 1964, and presented to Parliament by him in July, 1964. I do not doubt that the paragraphs fairly record the Corporation's view of the project at the time when it prepared the Report.
§ Mr. HamiltonIs my right hon. Friend saying that in May, 1964, the Corporation had no inkling of the financial unsoundness of the Cadco project? In view of the cynicism with which these paragraphs were bound to be met by the local population, ought not extraordinary steps to have been taken to make sure that these paragraphs were not included? Paragraph 42, for example, regards the project as "most interesting".
§ Mr. RossThe Report itself was a matter not for the Scottish Office but for the new town Corporation. It is only right that I should accept that the Corporation regarded this at the time as a fair record of the project.