§ Mr. Wattasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consider acquiring high-speed hovercraft to strengthen the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland fleet of fishery protection vessels.
§ Mr. Hugh D. BrownA Royal Navy hovercraft has recently been engaged experimentally on fishery protection work off Scotland and officers from my Department have been aboard on a number of patrols. This type of craft has limitations as a general purpose fishery protection vessel. Its suitability for specific limited tasks is still under consideration.