asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will arrange for the International Exhibition on Town Planning, representing 13 European countries and already shown in England, to be made available for Scottish interests.

I have already had this matter under consideration in consultation with the Scottish Committee of the Arts Council of Great Britain and interested local authorities, and I am hopeful of being able to arrange for the exhibition to be shown in Scotland in the spring of next year on its return from the United States.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the estimated population of Scotland on the latest ascertainable date; and what are the populations of the cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, respectively, on the same date.

The estimated total population of Scotland at 30th June, 1947, was 5,138,700; of Edinburgh, 485,700; of Glasgow. 1,108,500, and of Aberdeen, 187,800.

In view of the growth in population in the last ten years, can my right hon. Friend account for the increase?

Is it not an admirable advance that English Members are beginning to learn something about Scotland?

is it not the case that the invasion of Englishmen has now increased from .01 per cent. to 3 per cent. of the population of Scotland?

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the Wool Controller for Scotland acts as chairman of the tribunal to which appeal is made against the orders of the Wool Control

The tribunals to which the hon. Member refers are set up in each area, of which Scotland is one, for dealing with appeals from farmers who consider that their wool has been undervalued on a requisition. Each tribunal consists of an equal number of authorised merchants and producers, and the chairman is the chief executive officer of the Wool Control in this area. This procedure is common to all areas and has operated satisfactorily throughout the period of wool control. In these circumstances there has been no departure from it on the transfer to the Agricultural Ministers of the responsibility for requisitioning the 1947 home wool clip.

Would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that it is quite wrong for a decision which has been given by one particular individual to be referred to a board of which that same individual is chairman, and will he do something about it?

I will certainly look into the matter, but I am not prepared to admit that it is altogether wrong because the appeal tribunals are in fact only advisory committees, and the final decision rests not with them, but with the Wool Control acting on behalf of the responsible Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many contracts, to date, have been placed in connection with the schemes of the Hydro-Electric Board; and, of these, how many have been placed with Scottish firms

I am making inquiries and will communicate with the hon. Member as soon as the information is available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the workmen employed on the schemes of the Hydro-Electric Board in Scotland are of Scottish nationality.

No detailed records are kept of the nationality of the men employed on the schemes of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board, but it is estimated that, apart from prisoners of war, about 90 per cent. are Scotsmen. So far as possible the men employed are recruited from the local employment exchanges.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make an announcement regarding the appointment of the chairmen of the Regional Hospital Boards.

I would refer the hon Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Kelvingrove (Mr. J. Williams) on 15th July last, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the fatal accident which occurred at Strathblane, Stirlingshire, when a shepherd and an Ayrshire cow were killed by coming in contact with an electrically live barbed-wire fence; if proper investigation is being made into the matter; and what steps are being taken to prevent such fatalities.

I have been asked to reply. This fatal accident will be the subject of a Fatal Accidents Inquiry under the Fatal Accidents Inquiries (Scotland) Act, 1895. At that inquiry the cause of death and the circumstances of the accident will be fully and publicly investigated by the sheriff.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what alternative accommodation he is providing for the tenants who are being removed from their present domiciles at Rutland House, in the Tradeston Division of Glasgow.

All the 17 families at Rutland House and 13 additional families at Crookston Camp were transferred to hutted accommodation in a former anti-aircraft camp at Garscadden on 31st July. The families co-operated in the transfer and on the whole the accommodation at Garscadden is better than that which they formerly occupied.

Can my hon. Friend say if reasonable transport facilities to and from their work are available to the families concerned?

I should not like to say that in every case. Some of the men think it is rather far, but on the whole the families concerned have taken it very well. May I add that while transferring them we had buses to transport them and arranged for the fuel and food authorities to visit the camp, and that the whole operation took only nine hours. The families expressed the view that the Government Department acted in a humane and kindly fashion.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is yet in a position to make a statement regarding the Government's intentions for the implementation of the recommendations in the Scottish Housing Advisory Committee's Report, Modernising Our Homes.

The Government have given careful consideration to the question of the improvement of existing houses, in relation to the housing programme. They remain of opinion that for the present the most urgent need is to concentrate on the building of new houses as much labour and materials as can be made available. They intend, however, to include in their housing programme provision for the improvement of existing houses in Scotland and to make available financial assistance to local authorities in town and country for approved proposals (whether carried out by the local authority or by other persons) in order to secure work of a good standard and accommodation at approved rents. Proposals will be worked out in detail in consultation with the Associations of Local Authorities and legislation will be introduced so that facilities may be available as soon as the situation in regard to labour and materials justifies this expansion of the programme.

Is the right hon. Gentleman telling the House at last that this is all the Government intend to do in substitution of the Rural Housing Act?

No, Sir, the Government are doing many things with particular relation to the development and improvement of agriculture in both Scotland and England, and this is only one of the steps that we are taking in the right direction.

Will the Minister see that first priority is given to the modernisation or improvement of rural housing in Scotland?

All I can say is that we will give the fullest consideration to the requirements of the rural areas.

My supplementary question had nothing to do with agriculture, as the right hon. Gentleman must have understood, although his reply referred to it; I asked whether or not this is the first instance in which the Government have made any reference whatever to the attempt to attack the rural housing problem or to replace the Rural Housing Act which has been abrogated?

No, Sir, the hon. and gallant Member is entirely wrong.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether a decision has been arrived at regarding the proposed bridge to link North Uist, Grimsby and Benbecula; what the cost will be; what percentage and sum of the total cost will be borne by the Scottish Departments; what the cost of Portnaguran Pier, Isle of Lewis; will be; what the assistance available from the Scottish Departments will be; and when construction is to begin.

The proposal to bridge the North Ford is being considered by the Minister of Transport and myself, but no decision has yet been reached. I am not in a position to give an up-to-date estimate of the cost of this project, but in 1944 the county council estimated the cost at £100,000. As regards Portnaguran Harbour, I offered last year to make a grant of £24,000 towards the cost of a scheme estimated to cost £32,000. The county council have since suggested amendments to the plans which would increase this cost and the matter is now being further discussed with their engineers.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has in mind measures for meeting in future the needs of Scotland in the matter of agricultural drainage.

Yes, Sir, I have had this matter under consideration. In view of the importance to Scottish agriculture of adequate land drainage, I have appointed an independent Committee with the following terms of reference:

"To review the operation of drainage schemes carried out in Scotland under the Agriculture Act, 1937, the Land Drainage (Scotland) Acts, the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Acts, and emergency war-time powers; to examine the extent to which further large-scale drainage work is necessary and desirable in the interests of efficient agriculture; and to advise what legislative or other provision should be made to enable such further work to be carried out."

Would the right hon. Gentleman assure the House that not only large-scale agricultural drainage schemes are to be considered by this committee, since smaller ones are equally important in their way, and in my own case I have been trying for seven years to get one field drained which has been impossible so far because of the lack of labour.

None of these questions will be ruled out of consideration so far as the Committee is concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the corporation for the setting up of the new town at East Kilbride does not include any residential representation; and if he will remedy this omission.

In making appointments to the East Kilbride development corporation, I was anxious to secure the services of persons with wide experience in a variety of fields. While the corporation as now appointed does not include a resident of East Kilbride, I am satisfied that, in compliance with the alternative statutory requirement, it includes persons having special knowledge of local conditions there.

Would the right hon. Gentleman agree that there is a suspicion in the minds of local residents that the interpretation of the right hon. Gentleman's wish to have people of wide experience is confined almost entirely to well-known, notorious and lifelong Socialists?

I am sorry if there is any suspicion of that kind in the minds of the people of East Kilbride. If the suspicion is there, it is not justified.

Could I ask my right hon. Friend whether the hon. and gallant Member for East Renfrew (Major Lloyd) resides in his constituency; and whether there is any suspicion in the minds of the people of East Renfrew that they are not adequately represented?

That is obviously another question, Mr. Speaker. It was answered at the last General Election and the same answer will be given at the next Election. Arising from the reply given by the right hon. Gentleman, may I ask whether he wishes to inform the House that the overwhelming majority of members of the new corporation have not, all their adult days, been notoriously associated with and voting for the Socialists?

In setting up the corporation, I made up my mind that, irrespective of politics, I would get the best individuals I could to fill the posts.