§ 79. Mr. Nabarroasked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in consideration of £17,800,000 having been expended by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board upon new projects during 1956 whereas no new power projects were authorised by Statutory Instrument other than £267,500 for the Constructional Scheme No. 23C (Moriston Project), whether he will now state in respect of each calendar year since 1945 the cost in millions of pounds of new works executed compared with new works authorised in each year by 162W Statutory Instrument; and what change in policy is implied by the disparity between the two figures, respectively, for work executed and work authorised in 1956.
§ Mr. MaclayThe table below sets out for each year since 1945 in column A the amounts expended by the Board on hydro-electric works and in column B the value of the works authorised by Statutory Instruments which came into force during the year.
No change of policy is implied in the disparity between the figures in the two columns for 1956 or any other year. Major hydro-electric schemes take several years to complete and expenditure on works authorised in any one year is usually spread over several subsequent years.
TABLE Column A Column B Year Amount expended on new hydro-electric works during the year Value of works authorised by Statutory Instruments coming into force in the year £ million £ million 1945 … 0.02 31.38 1946 … 1.49 — 1947 … 4.70 20.22 1948 … 5.60 1.51 1949 … 10.61 52.27 1950 … 10.48 — 1951 … 6.89 0.08 1952 … 8.78 0.73 1953 … 11.45 31.20 1954 … 14.80 4.75 1955 … 16.33 3.78 1956 … 14.20 0.27 £105.35 £146.19 NOTE: The figure of £17,800,000 referred to in the question is the total cost of hydro-electric works started in earlier years but completed in 1956; the amount expended on hydro-electric works in that year was £14,200,000 as shown in column A.
§ 77. Mr. Nabarroasked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in regard to the 0North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board (Constructional Scheme No. 23C) Confirmation Order, 1956, and the explanatory memorandum thereto, whether he will state what proportion of the cost of the new road at £367,000 is to be borne by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board and the amount so borne, and the proportion and amount to be borne by him.
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§ Mr. MaclayThe estimate of £367,000 given in the explanatory memorandum is the cost of a road designed to provide a single carriageway 11 feet in width. The Board's contribution towards this cost will be £267,500. As it is proposed that the road should be taken over as a trunk road the Government have since decided that the new road should be constructed to provide a double carriageway 18 feet in width. The cost of such a road is estimated at £597,000. The Board's contribution will remain unchanged and the Government will contribute the balance.
§ 80. Mr. Nabarroasked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in connection with the Moriston Project No. 23C, what property the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board has acquired in anticipation of executing the scheme; how much of such property was acquired from objectors; what part of the £359,000 cost of the project is for land acquisition to build the road, and what part is for property acquired in excess of the immediate land requirement for the road; and whether he will publish an analysis of costs contributing to the total of £359,000 referred to in the explanatory memorandum to the Moriston Project.
§ Mr. MaclayThe Board has as yet no powers to acquire property for the purpose of its Scheme No. 23C which is still before Parliament. I am informed, however, that in the course of settlement of claims under Schemes No. 23 and No. 24 it has acquired Ardochy Estate, through which the road proposed in Scheme No. 23C will pass, from Mr. Edmund Luxmoore, who was an objector to Scheme No. 23C: and that the estimated cost of that scheme includes a total of £7,000 for land acquisition and compensation, which sum does not allow for the purchase of property in excess of immediate land requirements.
The analysis of the estimated cost is:
£ £ Land and compensation 7,000 Civil Engineering Work (to be borne by the Board) 160,500 267,500 Civil Engineering Work (to be borne by the Secretary of State) 329,500 £597,000