§ 54. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the latest figures for the clearance of derelict sites in each of the coal-mining areas and for the country as a whole; and what plans he now has for the speeding up of the clearance programme.
§ Dr. Dickson MabonClearance schemes have been completed in respect of 706 acres. Of these 174 acres are in 281W Fife, but I cannot distinguish precisely the figures for coal-mining areas.
In September we wrote to all local authorities drawing their attention to the wider grant-making powers now available under the Industrial Development Act, 1966, and urging them to prepare clearance programmes. The current Local Government (Scotland) Bill will make grants even more widely available.
§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been paid to local authorities for the clearance of derelict sites in each of the last six years; and what plans he has for inducing them to expedite this work.
§ Dr. Dickson MabonI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him today. The figures are as follows:
Payments in respect of derelict site schemes in Scotland £ 1960–61 … … … 25,841 1961–62 … … … 5,822 1962–63 … … … 28,884 1963–64 … … … 41,217 1964–65 … … … 348,364 1965–66 … … … 376,818