§ Mr. Welshasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the Scottish population live in rural areas; and what studies or research he has commissioned on the problems of rural areas and rural life.
§ Mr. McElhoneIt is estimated that 12 per cent. of the population of Scotland at the 1971 census lived in rural areas.
Since 1974, my right hon. Friend's departments have commissioned, whether on their own or in conjunction with other agencies, studies or research on the following topics:
- Social consequences of rapid industrialisation.
- Developments in sparsely populated areas of Scotland.
- Child care in the Highland Region and Western Isles.
- English/Gaelic bilingual education in primary schools.
- Basic education and teacher support in sparsely populated areas.
- Mental deficiency in the Highlands.
- Community development in rural regions.
- Socio-economic indicators for rural areas.
- Sunart Estate development.
- Residential mobile homes in Scotland.
- Rural housing.
- Transport services for passengers and goods in Borders Region.
- Rural transport experiments.
§ Mr. Welshasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will set up a countryside review committee for Scotland.
§ Mr. McElhoneNot at present. My right hon. Friend receives advice from the Standing Committee on Rural Land Use, which covers much the same range of interests as the Countryside Review Committee.
§ Mr. Welshasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons in his 844W Department are involved full-time in conservation and rural land use matters; and how many are specifically allocated to rural affairs.
§ Mr. McElhone14 members of my right hon. Friend's departments are engaged full-time in conservation and rural land use matters; and a further 1,281, mainly in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, are concerned with various aspects of rural affairs.