§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYasked the Minister of Labour, as representing the Ministry of Health, whether he has examined the possibility of land-reclamation work in the shoal-water areas and tidal waters of the River Humber; in particular, whether he has considered the reclaiming of some 10,000 acres of land between Sunk Island and Spurn Point; and whether he is aware that the previous land reclamations, as, for example, at Sunk Island, have been successful, the land reclaimed being particularly rich for farming purposes?
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§ Major BARNSTONI have been asked to reply. The possibility of carrying out schemes of land reclamation, both in the area referred to by the hon. and gallant Member and in many other areas, has been frequently considered by the Ministry in recent years. It has been found, however, that the cost at the present time is so much in excess of what it was in the past, when such schemes at that at Sunk Island were carried out, that the Ministry has regretfully come to the conclusion that land reclamation under present conditions is so highly uneconomic that it cannot be recommended as a means of relieving unemployment.