§ Sir P. Hurdasked the Minister of Agriculture what progress has been made with the clearing of the River Kennet; how many acres of formerly waterlogged land have been made available for food production and at what cost; what further work of a similar character is being planned by drainage boards in Wiltshire and Berkshire; and whether, in the opinion of his experts, the fishing in this river has been injured by these operations.
Mr. HudsonI am advised by the Conservators of the River Thames that they have dredged the River Kennet from Reading to Chamberhouse Farm, Thatcham, at a cost of approximately £40,000 and that the area benefiting directly or indirectly from this work is estimated at 10,000 acres. Although additional minor works on farm ditches, etc., still remain to be done the effects of the scheme are already appreciable, and so far there have been no signs of flooding in spite of the exceptional wetness of the season. I regret that it would require an undue expenditure of time and labour to collect the precise information requested in the third part of the Question, but I understand that while no further work is at present contemplated on the River Kennet, Catchment Boards in Wiltshire and Berkshire have a number of other drainage schemes under consideration. In reply to the last part of the Question, it is not considered likely 5W that any permanent damage to fisheries will have been caused by these operations.