§ Dr. PETERSasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has arrived at any decision with regard to the introduction of suggested land drainage legislation; if so, whether he will consider the introduction of a separate Bill or make separate provisions in a Bill dealing with land drainage generally, so as to treat separately the subject of Ouse drainage, which covers a larger area than any other land drainage area; and whether, having regard to the burden upon agriculture of the present Ouse drainage rates, he will make provision for the whole or a substantial part of the drainage rates and/or of the capital expenditure re quired to be expended upon land drainage to be paid out of the national Exchequer?
Mr. BUXTONAs I informed the hon. and gallant Member for Louth (Lieut.-Colonel Heneage) on the 31st October, a Bill generally on the lines recommended by the Royal Commission on Land Drainage is in preparation, and will be introduced at the earliest possible date. There is no intention of treating the Ouse Catchment Area differently from other Catchment Areas, several of which are in fact larger than the Ouse Area. As regards the last part of the question, Government grants on a substantial scale are, as publicly announced, already avail able towards the cost of drainage schemes generally, and considerable grants have already been made or promised accordingly for such schemes within the Ouse Area.