asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether funds for conservation under section 32 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act will be made available by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland in the Western Isles during the life of the integrated development programme.

Such expenditure under section 32 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as might arise in the Western Isles during the life of the integrated development programme would be incurred by the Nature Conservancy Council, whose funding is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.