§ Mr. T. JOHNSTONasked the Under-Secretary to the Scottish Board of Health if he is aware that thousands of acres of good cultivable land are lost to agriculture through the annual flooding in the Kelvin Valley; if he has had representations from local branches of the Farmers' Union drawing attention to this waste of national resources; if the annual flooding is caused largely by a barrage at a disused mill near Maryhill, and if such barrage were removed the Kelvin would have a fall of 15 feet; and if he will have inquiries made into the question?
§ Captain ELLIOTI understand that a considerable area of land in the Kelvin Valley cannot be put to the best agricultural use owing to liability to flooding. My Noble Friend has received a copy of a letter from a branch of the National Farmers' Union of Scotland conveying a 703W suggestion made at a meeting of the branch that if the river Kelvin were dredged or widened many acres of land would be fit for cultivation. He understands that the obstruction mentioned in the third part of the question is partly responsible for the flooding, and that if it were removed there would be a fall in the river, but that this is not the only contributory factor. Any action in the matter can only be taken by the riparian owners concerned, and my Noble Friend does not think that any sufficient purpose would be served by making further inquiries.