§ Mr. Henderson Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what reasons have now induced him to set up a Land Utilisation Committee in Scotland, in view of the previous refusal to appoint a similar committee so that the Scottish people might be informed about the nature and scope of the land problem in Scotland, in relation to the Report of the Scott Committee for England and Wales?
Mr. JohnstonAs my hon. Friend was informed on 17th November last it was not thought necessary to set up a Land Utilisation Committee on the lines of the committee for England and Wales over which Lord Justice Scott presided, I explained that such an inquiry would duplicate the work of the many Scottish committees already appointed to deal with subjects of vital importance to rural Scotland. I have set up the committee of which Lord Normand is chairman solely to ensure that any recommendations of the English committee, so far as applicable to Scottish conditions, are covered by the work of the Scottish committees I have mentioned, or otherwise.