HC Deb 25 February 1975 vol 887 cc106-7W
Mr. Sillars

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many acres of land have been sold by his Department in each of the past five years.

Mr. William Ross

Sales of land by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland and by the Forestry Commission, the two major land-holding departments, during the period in question were:—

DAFS (acres) FC (acres)
1970 115 4,152*
1971 500 16,068
1972 1,308 43,981
1973 1,424 14,442
1974 333 23,925
* Covers 18-month period.

Small sales of land held by the Scottish Home and Health Department for health service and prisons purposes also took place during this period.

Mr. Sillars

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the landholdings of his Department at the nearest available date; and how this compares with the previous 10 years.

Mr. William Ross

The amount of land held by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland and by the Forestry Commission, the two major land-holding departments, on the dates in question were as follows:—

1974 (acres) 1964 (acres)
DAFS 419,114 433,269
Forestry Commission 1,828,000 1,483,000
2,247,114 1,916,269

In addition, small areas of land are held by the Scottish Home and Health Department for health service and prisons purposes and by the Scottish Development Department for road development.

Mr. Sillars

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when was the last sale of land owned by his Department to the private sector; how many acres were involved; and what was the selling price

Mr. William Ross

On 30th January 1975; a smallholding extending to 15½ acres of land was sold for £10,000 to the sitting tenant.

Mr. Sillars

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many acres of land have been sold by his Department in the Highlands in each of the past 15 years.

Mr. William Ross

Information for the full period in question is not readily available and could not be provided without considerable research. Details of sales during the past five years by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland and the Forestry Commission, the two major land-holding departments, are as follows:

DAFS (acres) FC (acres)
1970 63 2,600*
1971 95 5,515
1972 640 22,265
1973 44 10,327
1974 148 20,219
* Covers 18-month period.

These figures exclude sales of public land between the agricultural and forestry sectors. Sales of small areas of land held by Scottish Home and Health Department for health service purposes also took place during this period.

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