§ Sir J. Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what work is at present being done in the crofting counties to supply information for the Survey of Land Use in Sutherland; when it is anticipated that the results of the survey will be published; and what other official surveys of this kind are in train.
§ Mr. RossA survey of Central and most of East Sutherland is now being carried out jointly by the Forestry Commission and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland to establish how much plantable land there is and how much could be afforested with due regard to the needs of agriculture. In addition, the Forestry Commission has recently completed its part of a survey of nine estates in the Helms-dale Valley.
As is usual with such surveys, the detailed results will be treated as confidential. I shall be considering whether there would be any advantage in publishing the overall results when the surveys are concluded.
It is hoped shortly to commence a further joint survey of extensive areas of Mid Ross and Mid Inverness-shire.