§ Mr. Ancramasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has requested Lothian and Strathclyde regional councils to help in the distribution of the Home Office's pamphlet "Civil Defence—Why We Need It"; what reply they have made to him; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RifkindMy Department wrote to chief executives of regional, islands area and district councils on 9 November, inviting local authorities to consider making copies of the pamphlet "Civil Defence—Why We Need It" freely available at local libraries and public information desks, to citizens advice bureaux and through local voluntary organisations. Neither Strathclyde regional council not Lothian regional council has yet indicated its intentions.
The pamphlet, which anwers some commonly-asked questions on civil defence, is part of the Government's commitment to make information about civil defence more generally available to the public. At 30 November, some 16,000 copies had been issued to local authorities and voluntary organisations, and further requests for supplies are still being received.
I very much hope that no local authority will seek to deprive the people in this area of the opportunity to obtain copies of the pamphlet. Copies are, however, available by direct request to the Scottish Home and Health Department, St. Andrew's House, Edinburgh, EH1 3DE.