§ Mr. Stodartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the expenditure by the Forestry Commission in the Highland counties in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of all the Commission's expenditures in Scotland this represents.
§ Mr. RossThe estimated net expenditure was as follows:
(a) Highland Counties* (b) Scotland (a) as percentage of (b) £'000 £'000 Per cent. 1955 … … 1,097 2,800 39 1956 … … 1,145 2,698 42 1957 … … 1,186 2,744 43 1958 … … 1,165 2,694 43 1959 … … 1,210 2,733 44 1960 … … 1,231 2,905 42 1961 … … 1,350 3,295 41 1962 … … 1,413 3,112 45 1963 … … 1,516 3,764 40 1964 … … 1,536 3,970 39 * The counties are Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty, Inverness and Argyll. There was no expenditure in Orkney and Shetland.
ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE IN THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS £ million 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 Exchequer Grants to Local Revenues including Education 4.025 4.355 5.001 5.695 6.049 Water and Sewerage … … 0.610 0.172 0.125 0.104 0.131 Housing … … 0.603 0.598 0.742 0.827 0.971 Health … … 3.003 3.228 3.591 3.743 3.984 Roads … … Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation Vote 1.500 1.500 2.000 Shipping … … 0.267 0.249 0.284 0.278 0.271 Agriculture … … 2.505 2.639 4.923 5.040 5.749 Forestry … … 0.931 1.097 1.145 1.186 1.165 Fisheries … … 0.905 0.858 0.784 0.701 0.878 Miscellaneous … … 0.276 0.280 0.316 0.324 0.353 TOTAL … … 13.125 13.476 18.411 19.398 21.551 200W
£ million 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 Exchequer Grants to Local Revenues including Education 5.888 7.096 7.405 8.231 8.618 Water and Sewerage … … 0.168 0.265 0.253 0.342 0.336 Housing … … 1.076 1.143 1.141 1.106 1.111 Health … … 3.946 4.270 4.559 5.060 5.523 Roads … … 2.200 2.917 2.509 3.125 3.738 Shipping … … 0.296 0.522 0.550 0.951 1.351 Agriculture … … 5.860 6.226 6.151 7.230 7.308 Forestry … … 1.210 1.231 1.350 1.413 1.526 Fisheries … … 0.941 1.008 0.992 0.757 0.800 Miscellaneous … … 0.491 0.510 0.509 0.415 0.525 TOTAL … … 22.076 25.188 25.419 28.630 30.836
§ Mr. MacArthurasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the various headings of expenditure by the Scottish departments in the Highland counties in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion this is of their total expenditure in Scotland.
§ Mr. RossEstimated net expenditure by my Departments and the Forestry Commission in the Highlands and Islands (seven crofter counties) during each of the years 1954–55 to 1963–64 inclusive is given in the following table and represents about 10 per cent. of the total estimated expenditure by these Departments in Scotland. Figures of actual expenditure in the Highlands and Islands are available only for 1962–63 and 1963–64 and show a variation of about 2 per cent. from the estimated figures. Total net expenditure in the Highlands and Islands in the current financial year is estimated at £33 million.
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§ Mr. MacArthurasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what capital and other expenditure in the Highland counties has been incurred by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. RossSeparate information is not available for the Highland counties, but the total capital and revenue expenditure of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board during each of the past ten years was:
£ million Gross Expenditure Revenue* Capital 1955 … … … 7.8 23.4 1956 … … … 8.8 20.3 1957 … … … 9.4 18.0 1958 … … … 10.9 16.3 1959 … … … 12.2 13.6 1960 … … … 13.1 10.7 1961 … … … 13.3 12.9 1962 … … … 14.8 15.8 1963 … … … 17.8 17.1 1964 … … … 18.5 17.1 * Including interest payment but excluding depreciation provision.
§ Mr. MacArthurasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what yearly expenditure has been incurred in the Highland counties under the Highlands and Islands (Shipping Services) Act 1960.
§ Mr. RossSince 1960–61, the year the Highlands and Islands (Shipping Services) Act 1960 came into effect, expenditure on shipping services in the Highland counties has been:
Expenditure Year Capital Payments Subsidy Payments £ £ 1960–61 — 276,404 1961–62 124,254 296,368 1962–63 251,817 341,355 1963–64 835,346 281,005 1964–65 (estimated) 467,000 523,000
§ Mr. MacArthurasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what public expenditure has been incurred in the Highland counties in each of the last 10 years by the Crofters Commission, the Herring Board, and the White Fish Authority, respectively.
§ Mr. RossExpenditure on Schemes administered by the Crofters Commission since the Commission was appointed has been:202W
Calendar Year £ October 1955—December 1957* … 298,854 1958 … 375,780 1959 … 464,951 1960 … 520,835 1961 … 573,434 1962 … 544,681 1963 … 494,281 1964 … 472,648 * The first Scheme enabling the Commission to provide financial assistance to crofters came into operation on 31st July, 1956. Separate figures for the years 1955–57 are not available. Expenditure by the Herring Industry Board and the White Fish Authority in the Highland Counties on schemes mainly to assist the building of new fishing vessels and the re-engining of existing fishing vessels has been:
Calendar year Herring Industry White Fish Board Authority Grant Loan Grant Loan £ £ £ £ August, 1953-December, 1957* 1,250 2,469 89,025 185,877 1958 1,508 2,229 33,045 67,208 1959 4,262 7,372 33,769 69,726 1960 16,563 25,277 22,355 55,690 1961 19,946 14,179 23,247 19,252 1962 11,755 14,940 24,049 13,003 1963 5,505 17,774 18,557 35,020 1964 27,213 40,613 26,928 50,113 * Separate figures for these years are not available. The Board and the Authority have other responsibilities covering the whole country and are partly financed by contributions from the industry. Comprehensive figures of their expenditure out of public funds relating particularly to the Highland Counties are not available. The following items can, however, be so related:
(a) Capital Expenditure from public funds in Crofting Counties by Herring Industry Board Financial Year £ 1954–55 … … … … 35,443 1955–56 … … … … 1,456 1956–57 … … … … 1,017 1957–58 … … … … 2,888 1958–59 … … … … 21,006 1959–60 … … … … 33,498 1960–61 … … … … 24,879 1961–62 … … … … 35,693 1962–63 … … … … 3,815 1963–64 … … … … Nil (b) Grant assistance up to a maximum of £6,000 per annum has been made available to the Herring Industry Board by my Department in respect of the operation of the Board's reduction factory at Stornoway since August, 1963.