§ Mr. David StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many responses were received by his Department in respect of the revised assisted areas map; and how many responses(a) objected to and (b) supported the removal of Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch, and Strathspey from the proposed map. [120924]
§ Dr. Reid[holding answer 5 May 2000]: During the consultation period following the 10 April announcement of revised Assisted Area map proposals, a total of 83 responses were received by my Department, of which a total of 63 related to all of or parts of Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey areas.
§ Mr. David StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the criteria were which excluded Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey from the revised assisted areas map. [120926]
§ Dr. Reid[holding answer 5 May 2000]: The July 1999 Assisted Area map proposals put forward the Highlands and Islands NUTS 2 area as a whole, for inclusion on the basis of its population sparsity. However, the European Commission would not accept this, and the Inverness NUTS 3 area does not on its own meet the sparsity criterion.
§ Mr. David StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will rank Scottish constituencies by(a) the reduction and (b) the increase in population coverage proposed in the revised assisted areas map. [120927]
§ Dr. Reid[holding answer 5 May 2000]: The information requested is contained in the table (but see note following).
379W
Scottish parliamentary constituencies with reduced population coverage, comparing the revised Assisted Areas map proposals published in April 2000 against the earlier proposals published in July 1999 Parliamentary constituency Population change Pollok 61,862 Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber 55,451 Cathcart 36,536 Moray 24,329 Angus 22,244 Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley 19,649 Ross, Skye and Inverness West 19,367 Govan 8,846 Clydesdale 7,991 Edinburgh West 7,006 Roxburgh and Berwickshire 6,218 Falkirk West 6,160 Edinburgh North and Leith 6,036 Dumbarton 6,015 Paisley South 5,800 Falkirk East 5,011 Airdrie and Shotts 4,734 Rutherglen 1,842
Scottish parliamentary constituencies with increased population coverage, comparing the revised Assisted Areas map proposals published in April 2000 against the earlier proposals published in July 1999 Parliamentary constituency Population change Dundee East 31,275 Greenock and Inverclyde 30,920 Maryhill 29,888 Anniesland 29,009 East Kilbride 23,616 Galloway and Upper Nithsdale 20,266 Livingston 16,764 Tweeddale, Ettrick and Launderdale 14,837 Dundee West 14,684 Kelvin 9,717 Paisley North 5,806 Coatbridge and Chryston 5,213 Hamilton South 5,051 Ayr 4,824 West Renfrewshire 4,816 Clydebank and Milngavie 4,197 Dumfries 2,587 Eastwood 602 Stirling 236 Note:
These figures are based on population data for 1991 wards. Several Parliamentary Constituency and ward boundaries have changed since 1991, therefore a 1991 ward may be shared between more than one parliamentary constituency. Due to this, the above data has been compiled on a 'best fit' basis.