§ Mr. KennedyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list those construction projects undertaken by the Scottish Office in conjunction with the private sector since 1979, and subject to a local planning inquiry, which involved the formal conclusion of a joint commercial contract in advance of the construction of the local planning inquiry; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 27 January 1992]: No joint commercial contracts for the execution of Scottish Office construction projects subject to public local inquiry have been entered into since 1979 except in the case of proposals for the Skye bridge. This is the first project to be advanced using procedures in the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (the relevant sections of which came into force on 21 October 1991) that envisage the signing of a contract in advance of any public local inquiry that may be held. However, execution is still conditional on the outcome of the inquiry.