§ Mr. Henderson Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he proposes to take on the petition recently sent him by 96 residents in Newburgh, Fife, against the proposed conservancy of the Tay Estuary.
Mr. McNeilThe petitioners are concerned about the recommendations in the report by the Scottish Wild Life Conservation Committee (Cmd. 7814) that part of the Tay Estuary, including Mug-drum Island, should be created a national nature reserve. I have already informed the petitioners that this is a suggestion only, and that formal responsibility for the selection of nature reserves in Scotland rests with the Scottish Committee of the Nature Conservancy. So far, the Conservancy have not proposed a nature reserve in the area in question, but if they do so I shall see that the petitioners' views are fully considered.