§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what mechanisms are in place for monitoring the use of publicly funded(a) grants and (b) loans to private landed estates in Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [25465]
§ Mr. Raymond S. RobertsonThere are no separate mechanisms for monitoring the use of publicly funded assistance to private estates in Scotland. Each grant or loan scheme includes its own mechanism for monitoring, and the conditions attaching to the monitoring exercise are applied to all recipients of assistance irrespective of their land tenure status.
§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list those land owners known to the Scottish Office at the present time who own estates in Scotland of over 500 acres, and express their total land holding as a percentage of the total land area of the country; and if he will make a statement. [25514]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThis information is not available for the whole of Scotland. Information on title to land over two hectares which has been registered on the land register is available from the Registers of Scotland executive agency.
§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the publicly funded(a) grants and (b) loans received by the Atholl estate since 1979; what mechanisms are currently in place to monitor the use of such payments; and if he will make a statement. [25466]
§ Mr. RobertsonDetails of financial assistance given to Atholl estate since 1979 are not held centrally. The collation of this information could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
The monitoring of any such payments is designed to ensure the achievement of the particular scheme objectives and the fulfilment of individual scheme conditions.