§ 7. Mr. Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, when he next meets the Forth Ports Authority, he will discuss safety on the River Forth.
§ Mr. AncramMy right hon. Friend has at present no plans to meet the Forth Ports Authority.
§ Mr. EwingWill the Minister make plans to meet the Forth Ports Authority in view of the fact that his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport is about to publish proposals concerning pilotage on the river? Does not the Minister understand that the dangers on the River Forth in relation to Braefoot bay, the nuclear refitting base at Rosyth, the Hound Point terminal, the Forth road and rail bridges and the narrow navigation channels in the river make it very dangerous to relax the pilotage conditions, and that it is right and proper that my constituents in Grangemouth and Bo'ness should be seriously concerned about the dangers resulting from the relaxation of the conditions?
§ Mr. AncramMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport will be dealing with the matter. He has received recommendations from the Pilotage Commission about draft bye-laws for the Forth pilotage district, and he is considering those recommendations in the context of the United Kingdom's pilotage policy.