HC Deb 04 November 1988 vol 139 cc790-1W
Mr. Onslow

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress his Department has made with the installation of fish-counting equipment on rivers in Scotland, and the north Esk in particular; and what steps he has taken to make information on such equipment available to those responsible for salmon stocks in other parts of the United Kingdom.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

The installation of fish counters and associated civil engineering works in Scottish rivers is a matter for district salmon fishery boards and salmon fishery proprietors.

With the agreement of the appropriate boards and proprietors, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland has installed fish counters for research purposes in the River North Esk at Logic and, more recently, in the Girnock Burn, Aberdeenshire. Tests of the "Logie" design of fish counter, developed with the assistance of the Department, show a high level of accuracy with regard to both upstream and downstream movements of fish.

The results of observations made on counter performance have been widely reported in scientific papers and in the published proceedings of symposia organised by the Institute of Fishery Management and the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology and in reports by the Department's freshwater fisheries laboratory at Pitlochry.

The Department has advised a number of district salmon fishery boards and interested parties about suitable locations and in-river works for fish counters on the rivers Aray, Berriedale, Dee (Aberdeenshire), Spey, Tay and Thurso. Advice has also been given to a number of water authorities in England and Wales. I understand that the "Logie" counter has been demonstrated, for example, at the game fair at Kelso in July 1988 and that a number of counters have been sold by its manufacturers.

Number of pupils receiving free school meals
Region division or Island authority 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
Border 1,769 1,572 1,365 773 966 1,097 1,113 1,136 1,065 1,203 1,184
Central 6,496 5,594 4,708 5,084 5,853 6,584 6,443 7,311 6,975 8,046 7,740
Dumfries and Galloway 3,959 3,581 2,851 2,017 2,265 2,705 2,718 2,765 2,950 2,826 2,994
Fife 8,424 7,632 6,443 6,146 6,935 7,263 6,719 8,639 8,172 9,025 8,927
Grampian 6,342 6,564 5,935 3,225 3,709 4,117 4,318 4,704 4,800 5,593 5,967
Highland 4,299 4,272 3,674 2,339 2,813 3,415 3,438 4,312 4,355 4,643 4,960
Lothian 17,568 17,141 14,655 13,162 14,145 12,854 12,413 14,201 13,711 14,689 15,773
Strathclyde 94,357 84,999 72,881 74,565 79,406 85,426 82,348 84,096 84,659 87,362 87,147
Argyll and Bute 1,861 1,709 1,497 1,336 1,443 1,563 1,525 1,469 1,510 1,560 1,555
Ayr 12,601 11,329 10,592 10,579 10,801 12,295 12,690 13,202 12,540 13,266 12,899
Dumbarton 8,255 7,204 5,734 5,823 6,838 7,972 7,385 8,103 8,622 9,340 9,027
Glasgow 39,239 37,234 31,743 32,913 34,156 36,045 33,791 33,947 34,059 34,671 35,337
Lanark 21,558 17,827 15,135 15,885 16,631 17,172 17,316 16,959 16,759 16,823 16,585
Renfrew 10,843 9,696 8,180 8,029 9,537 10,379 9,641 10,416 11,169 11,702 11,744
Tayside 10,020 9,234 8,208 5,610 6,597 7,380 7,702 7,854 8,154 7,921 8,720
Orkney 393 393 385 412 389 520 512 477 429 438 432
Shetland 244 223 155 163 189 183 236 246 232 270 263
Western Isles 1,840 1,781 1,358 1,215 1,280 1,409 1,375 928 1,125 1,178 1,112
Scotland 155,711 142,986 122,618 114,711 124,547 132,953 129,335 136,669 136,627 143,194 145,219

Mrs. Margaret Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in theOfficial Report the current charge levied for a school meal in each regional and divisional education authority.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

The information is as follows:

Region Division or Island Authority Charge for a Fixed Price School Meal (pence)
Borders 50
Central 60
Dumfries and Galloway 60
Fife 50
Grampian 163
273
Highland 70
Lothian 155
260
Strathclyde 64
Argyll and Bute 64
Ayr 64
Dumbarton 64
Glasgow (City) 64
Lanark 64
Renfrew 64
Tayside 165
270
Orkney 60
Shetland 60
Western Isles 70

1978 1983 1987
Age Male Female Male Female Male Female
Under 40 4 6 7 3 12
40 to 45 5 3 3 10 9 13
46 to 50 6 11 7 9 15 22

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