§ Mr. R. Gibsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals the Government have formulated to arrest depopulation and poverty among the inhabitants remaining in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and to provide facili- 584W ties whereby they may earn a decent livelihood?
§ Mr. ElliotI would refer the hon. and learned Member to the statement made by me in the Debate on the 16th December when I mentioned in particular the large new road programme in the Northern Counties, special aid to education, medical services and housing and the benefits which these areas are deriving from the Government's agricultural policy. Furthermore, the review of the block grant now in progress is being conducted with a full knowledge of and sympathy with the problems of the Highlands and Islands, though it is not of course possible at present to make any statement. In addition to those measures the problem of economic development of the Highlands and Islands is now being examined by the Highlands Sub-Committee of the Scottish Development Council which was appointed in consultation with the late Secretary of State, and the recommendations of that committee will receive full and sympathetic consideration by the Government.