Colonel C. BROWNasked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware that some dissatisfaction exists on the English side of the Scots border because Scotland has moorland drainage schemes and England has not; and if he will look into the matter?
Mr. GUINNESSI am aware that there is some demand for assistance in carrying out such schemes, and when funds were available for assisting land drainage schemes designed for the alleviation of unemployment, grants were made by the Ministry to a number of schemes promoted by county councils for the improvement of open drainage systems in upland districts in the North of England. Grants from the funds more recently placed at my disposal have been strictly limited to schemes promoted by Statutory Drainage Authorities (which have no counterpart in Scotland) as it was considered that these funds could be most usefully applied in assisting large schemes of arterial drainage designed to confer a wide benefit on agricultural land. These funds have been fully allocated, and no applications for grants can now be considered. I may add that by the Land Drainage Act, 1926, councils of counties and county boroughs in England and Wales are now empowered to carry out small drainage schemes, and otherwise to assist land drainage.