HC Deb 15 October 1969 vol 788 cc393-4
21. Mr. Gordon Campbell

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what restrictions on fishing for lobsters have been proposed by Her Majesty's Government owing to the extension of the Hebrides rocket range.

Mr. Richard

For safety reasons it has been necessary to increase slightly the size of the Hebrides range danger area. When the development of the range is complete it will be used more frequently and for a greater variety of weapons than during the past eleven years. For this reason it will at times be necessary to have the majority of the danger area clear between 11 a.m. and about 5 p.m. on not more than five days a week. Arrangements are being made to allow the lobster fishermen maximum access to the danger area whenever possible.

Mr. Campbell

Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the anxiety and consternation that there has been in the Hebrides and on the West Coast of Scotland during the Recess among fishermen whose livelihood is affected? While it seems that revised proposals have recently been put forward, should not the whole subject have been handled with much more understanding by the Government? For example, why was the Press first banned from one of the meetings and later admitted after a change of mind?

Mr. Richard

I do not accept the hon. Gentleman's criticisms for a moment. He spoke of the way in which the matter has been handled during the Recess. He ought to know that a liaison committee has been established between the Ministry of Defence and the local fishermen to deal with precisely these difficulties.

Mr. Manuel

Can my hon. Friend say whether the economic repercussions of these proposals were discussed with the Secretary of State for Scotland and whether information on the economic side, available to the Scottish Office, was considered before hard decisions were made?

Mr. Richard

I cannot state what negotiations and discussions took place between the Ministry of Defence and the Scottish Office. However, I can tell my hon. Friend that the range brings into the islands each year about £200,000 worth of civilian wages, which is about five times the value of the lobster harvest from all the waters around the islands.

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