§ 27. Mr. McAvoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what priority he gives to clearing up contaminated land when considering financial allocations to Scottish Enterprise and Glasgow development agency.
§ Mr. StewartMy right hon. Friend has made it clear, in his strategic and policy guidance to Scottish Enterprise, that its main priority in environmental matters is the eradication of environmental dereliction; and that there remains the need to tackle systematically and rationally the problems of dereliction and contamination. He expects that schemes which combine environmental improvements with economic gains should generally merit priority; and that schemes which remove health or other hazards should be given priority over comparable projects with no such impact.
My right hon. Friend takes these factors into account, along with others, in making resources available to Scottish Enterprise each year. Day-to-day decisions on the relative priority and resources to be afforded to particular schemes or projects are, however, a matter for Scottish Enterprise and the local enterprise companies, in the light of my right hon. Friend's strategic guidance.
The allocation of resources to Glasgow development agency is a matter for Scottish Enterprise.