§ Mr. Geraint Howellsasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many acres of hill and marginal land have been reclaimed in Scotland during each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Hugh D. BrownSubstantial areas of hill and marginal land in Scotland have been brought into more efficient agricultural production in the past 10 years under a variety of schemes of Government assistance, but the records of the acreages involved before 1971 are not complete. Since 1971 the acreages of land in the Scottish hills and uplands improved by works of reclamation and regeneration under the Farm Capital Grant (Scotland) Scheme and the Crofting Counties Agricultural Grants (Scotland) Scheme have been:
1971 … 10,900 acres 1972 … 22,300 acres 1973 … 35,900 acres 1974 … 53,400 acres 1975 … 53,800 acres