asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will hold a public inquiry into the increase in building cost of Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.

As the building contractors have moved for arbitration in the light of the final certificate issued on 26th October 1976 and have also started legal proceedings against the health board, it would be inappropriate to take a decision at this stage on the holding of an inquiry.

The Minister has given perhaps the only answer he could give in the circumstances. Does he accept that there is considerable anxiety about the manner in which these costs have been built up? Is the system of public accounting at the Scottish Office sufficiently sophisticated to deal with such circumstances? Will the Minister conduct an internal departmental inquiry into the way in which the costs escalated from £10 million to £25 million?

I accept that there is public concern on this question, but there is Government concern as well. These are highly complicated, complex and difficult legal matters. It would be better if the House agreed that we should leave the matter to take its legal process before examining it further.

Is the Minister aware that the same costly, insensitive blind bureaucracy has been displayed by the Tayside Health Board in its dealings with the services offered by Arbroath Infirmary? Will he look into that? Does he realise that health boards will be giving poorer services to local people at greater cost?

The hon. Member has a Question later on the Order Paper on the subject, and it would be unfair for me to pre-empt the answer to that Question.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest position regarding the establishment of community councils in Scotland.

Schemes for the establishment of community councils have been received from all 56 district and islands councils accompanied by a very large number of representations disagreeing with details of the proposals. All schemes and the relevant representations are being considered as quickly as possible. To date, nine have been approved and my right hon. Friend expects to deal with almost all of them before the end of the year.

I am gratified to hear that my hon. Friend seeks to secure completion before the end of the year. Is he aware that the involvement of grassroots interest in furtherance of the community spirit and in the campaign against many of the social evils that afflict our areas is dependent on setting up the community councils as quickly as possible? Will he see that he adheres to that timetable?

I support the views expressed by my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Springburn (Mr. Buchanan). We are trying to meet the deadline before the end of the year, but there are certain difficulties. This exercise reflected a very genuine concern by Glasgow and other districts to consider the observations of local communities. That was certainly the spirit of Wheatley. All I can say to my hon. Friend is to assure him that I, with my noble Friend who has day-to-day responsibility for community councils, will be trying to ensure that as many as possible are dealt with through my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State before the end of the year.

Does not the Minister accept that the last Conservative Government went to a great deal of trouble to create a new tier in local government, and that we do not want community councils in Scotland until we have got rid of these ridiculous regional authorities? Is that not a more important priority?

The hon. Gentleman's supplementary question has nothing to do with the original Question. He might wish not to support regional authorities in Scotland, but if that is so why did he and his party put up so many candidates for the regional authorities?

I appreciate the difficulties and the work involved in setting up community councils and in vetting the proposals for them. Therefore, will my hon. Friend consider urging the Secretary of State to devote more resources to this task? There is a great deal of local enthusiasm for community councils, and it would be unfortunate if it were dissipated by a delay in setting them up.

I accept my hon. Friend's comments about the enthusiasm for local community councils. The views of the local authorities had to be in by 15th May this year. Glasgow sent in its views five days afterwards, and most of the other authorities sent them in at the last moment together with views and considerations from local communities. The result was a large number of submissions having to be dealt with in a very short time. The Scottish Office officials are working extremely hard to ensure that my right hon. Friend will have the opportunity of approving almost all of them before the end of the year.

Is it necessary to set up community councils all together? Could it not be done one at a time? What about the situation in Glasgow? Many of the questions today have come from Glasgow Members, who are naturally very concerned. Will the Minister give some indication when Glasgow may expect the community councils? Will he be more definite than "before the end of the year"?

I can only repeat what I said earlier. There was a large number of representations, especially from Glasgow. The whole basis of Wheatley on this issue was to ensure that local communities' representations were considered, and not merely the views of local authorities. My right hon. Friend is keen to ensure that ordinary communities that are concerned about the spirit of family life and the development of the community in their areas receive a fair hearing. He decided to ensure that all representations were studied carefully in the interests of the communities. When that has been done, he will make his decision. My right hon. Friend is conscious of the need to get early decisions. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that almost all of them should have been carried through before the end of the year.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the setting up of community councils will mean substantial increases in public expenditure for very little effort? Will he consider scrapping the whole idea of community councils and using the money that would have been involved in increased public expenditure for more necessary services?

I am sorry to have to disagree with my hon. Friend, who takes a keen interest in community affairs in his constituency. Despite his opposition and protest, I can assure the House that my hon. Friend sends me many letters on behalf of his constituents as he does to my ministerial colleagues in the Scottish Office. I must point out to my hon. Friend that by getting community spirit and community life going in Scotland, we hope to prevent expenditure on vandalism, for example, and on other aspects of community life that are disagreeable to most of us and that are occupying the minds of many people in the Government, especially my hon. Friend who deals with these matters at the Scottish Office.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the delay in approving the scheme has meant that in some areas the initial enthusiasm is fading away? To take up the point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Hill-head (Mr. Galbraith), may I ask whether the Glasgow scheme will be approved by the end of the year? What will be the cost of community councils to public funds in a full year?

It is not for us to determine the actual cost. That is a matter that is left to the discretion of local authorities. The authorities made allowances for the cost in their rate support grant allocations from the Scottish Office. I understand that Glasgow is allocating about £300 per community council. That may be good for some of the smaller councils but it may be difficult for some of the larger ones, which will include many thousands of Glasgow constituents.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many new jobs have been created to date as a result of the work of the Scottish Development Agency.

In detail, this is a matter for the Agency. I am satisfied, nevertheless, that the Agency's industrial investment, factory building and environmental activities to date will have a significant impact on both the creation and the maintenance of employment. Factory lettings alone will, it is estimated, account for over 2,000 jobs.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that a reply like that puts a smokescreen across the work of the Agency? How can he reconcile his answer with the words of the former Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Kilmarnock (Mr. Ross), that the Agency would produce an industrial transformation in Scotland? Does he agree that putting the Scottish Development Agency into the present unemployment situation is the equivalent of sending an army with peashooters to fight a modern war?

I must say that that is one of the daftest supplementary questions I have heard since I joined the Scottish Office. The Agency has not yet reached its first birthday, but already there have been two substantial factory building programmes and investment in two major companies that will help to create and maintain jobs. We all appreciate the worthwhile environmental work that has been done by the Agency in a very short time.

Did Alexander Stephens Engineering take advantage of the offer to approach the Agency for financial assistance before it closed down?

The Stephens issue is quite another matter, as my hon. Friend well knows. I know that the Agency has been able to help in Govan not only in employment but in environmental matters that are important to my hon. Friend's constituency.

Does the Minister of State realise that his answers are astonishingly uninformative and complacent? How many jobs has the SDA retained through pseudo-nationalisation, and how many has it actually created?

I have already indicated how many jobs have been created or are likely to be created as a result of the factory building programme. I have indicated, too—I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will have noticed this in the Press—the work that has been done by the Agency regarding Ranco Motors and only recently as regards Munrospun Knitwear of Edinburgh. The hon. Gentleman should cast his mind back to the debates that took place in the House about the Highlands and Islands Development Board. There was great opposition from the Conservatives, but my postbag is now filled with letters written by Conservative Members asking whether I can get help from the HIDB as well as from the SDA.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest increases in crimes of violence and dishonesty in Scotland; and what steps he proposes to take to combat the rise of crimes of violence and dishonesty in Scotland.

First indications for the early part of 1976 suggest that the upward trend for 1975 which the former Secretary of State announced on 9th March has continued, largely in the area of crimes of dishonesty. We are in regular contact with chief constables about crime prevention measures and have studied with them what further measures can be taken to improve public co-operation and support for the police in crime prevention measures, such as the present publicity campaign on crime prevention including vandalism.

I am obliged to the Minister for his reply, but does it not demonstrate complete complacency? Is he surprised that there are so many failures in education? Is there not demonstrated a degree of complacency towards a major and growing social evil? Will the hon. Gentleman announce some measures that demonstrate that the Government mind about the crime rate and that they are willing to assist society in preventing the increasing difficulties which are brought about by crime by assisting the police to prevent it by, if necessary, taking measures through the Lord Advocate's Department?

I realise the difficulties that the hon. and learned Gentleman faced today of all days and the difficulty he obviously had in preparing that supplementary question. We have announced various measures to assist the police in combating crimes of violence and crimes of dishonesty. I must tell the hon. and learned Gentleman that the strength of the police force in Scotland is now higher than it has ever been. However, the police require the public's co-operation. It is in that area of public co-operation that we are desperately anxious to enlist the aid of both hon. Members and members of the public.

Is my hon. Friend aware that Scotland already has the highest prison population per head in the Western world? As we still have a distressingly high criminal incidence rate, will he examine alternative forms of sentencing which would not only be cheaper but might even be more effective?

We are at present examining alternative forms of sentencing, such as community work. We have asked four regional authorities in Scotland to consider that possibility. We are in discussions with the regional authorities at the moment.

Does the Minister realise that half the men admitted to Scottish prisons in any one year are admitted for non-payment of fines and other minor offences? Instead of being complacent about experimenting with community service orders, will he appreciate that such orders have been tried out successfully during the last four years south of the border? Will he speed up the implementation of these proposals in Scotland in order that the prisons can deal with the real problem of hardened prisoners in our society?

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman has realised the true facts. I understood that in recent weeks he and some of his hon. Friends were saying tha half the prison population were held because of the non-payment of fines. The true daily position is that only 8 per cent, of the prison population are held because of non-payment of fines. It requires some consultation—I thought that the Opposition were in favour of consultation—with regional authorities to introduce and implement community service orders.

Specifically as regards juvenile crime, will the Minister indicate when he expects the various steering committees to report and when we can expect intermediate powers to be awarded to children's panels to fulfil their useful rôle in Scottish society?

That is a matter for the social work departments. I cannot say when the various steering committees dealing with that aspect of the problem will report. Serious consideration is now being given to the possibility of giving children's panels wider powers and ranges of treatment.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the latest situation in the fishing industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now make a statement regarding the prospects for the Scottish fishing industry.

The market has continued to improve with the value of land- ings for the Scottish industry as a whole for the first nine months of 1976, at £60·4 million, some 43 per cent, above the comparable figure for 1975. Progress has been made in external aspects of the common fisheries policy, but there are still difficult and important issues in fisheries limits and conservation matters to be resolved.

Is the Secretary of State aware of the great and growing concern, particularly in Aberdeen, regarding access to the Faroese ground after 1st January? What provision for negotiation with the Faroese through the EEC has he made or is he in process of making?

The first step is to get Community confidence established by the establishment of the 200-mile limit and then agreement by the members of the Community that the Community will carry out those negotiations.

Have the British Government obtained any undertaking, such as I understand the Irish Government have got, that if they agreed to 200 miles their special need for a 50-mile limit would be given every consideration by the Community?

The Irish Government's demands are for a limit up to 50 miles. In that respect the Irish Government are on the same footing as the British Government. There were references in the recent communique not only to the special problems of the Irish fishing industry, but, as the right hon. Gentleman will see if he looks at the complete text, to the special needs and interests of the northern regions of the United Kingdom, which include Scotland.

Has my right hon. Friend noticed that the support given by the spokesman for the Scottish National Party, the hon. Member for Banff (Mr. Watt), to the proposition of broad bands of up to 50 miles contradicts the claim for a 100-mile limit made at the weekend?

I know that the hon. Member for Banff (Mr. Watt), who is the fisheries spokesman for the SNP, has made a lot of very silly statements recently which have been repudiated by the fishermen. I also know that, despite the fact that the SNP has been pretending to be in favour of a 100-mile limit, the hon. Member for Banff has within the last few days signed an appeal for limits of up to 50 miles, which is the objective of the British Government.

Will the Secretary of State give a clear undertaking that he is able to represent the Scottish fishing industry in the renegotiation of the common fisheries policy as effectively and energetically as the Irish fishing industry has been represented by its Government? Is he aware that these renegotiations are a critical test of the argument put forward by those of us who supported Britain in Europe in the referendum that Scotland's interests are better represented through Britain than through a separate Scottish representation?

The answer to both questions is an unequivocal " Yes ".

Does the House recognise that the Scottish National Party accepts a 50-mile limit under protest but that it reserves the right for an independent Scotland to seek to extend it to 100 miles? Regarding the outcome of the discussions on haddock quotas this week, does the right hon. Gentleman recognise that Scottish fishermen deeply resent the fact that they have to stop fishing for haddock while the boats of other nations are allowed to go on fishing for that species in our waters?

I think that the more the hon. Gentleman says about fishing, the better, because he contradicts himself with every successive statement. I am glad that the SNP is now in favour of a 50-mile limit. That is another instant change of policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is satisfied that the target for agricultural expansion in Scotland is being achieved.

We shall shortly be examining the economic situation and prospects of the farming industry with the National Farmers Unions during the annual review. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman would not expect me to anticipate the outcome of that review.

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that there are big discrepancies in the financial returns of certain sections of the industry, as exemplified by the action which had to be taken recently regarding returns for fat pigs? Does he accept that unless that is put right we cannot have a healthy agriculture industry in Scotland?

One of the fascinating things about the agriculture industry is that there are always big discrepancies. Those who produce certain crops or commodities may do well one year but not so well the next year. However, all-round prospects are good. Indeed, the economic returns to the farmers are well up on anything that they have had during the last few years.

Does the Minister agree that one of the main reasons for lack of investment in agriculture in Scotland is uncertainty surrounding the green pound? Does he further agree that that could be overcome by the establishment of a sovereign, strong Scottish pound to which a green pound Scots would be linked and that the establishment of a strong and healthy green pound Scots would give satisfaction to agriculture interests in Scotland, both consumers and producers alike?

I have enough difficulty understanding how the green pound works, never mind the tortuous statement made by the hon. Gentleman about a mythical Scottish pound. The basic fundamental facts concerning the indicators in the industry are all favourable to the farming community. I rest my case on that.

Does my hon. Friend accept that farmers in Scotland had a very successful year last year? It would be in the interests of consumers—and we on this side of the House represent them—if the Government insisted on sticking to their policy on the green pound and did not yield to the blandishments of either the National Farmers Union or the Scottish National Party, both of which are in favour of the interests of farmers and against those of consumers.

I do not entirely agree with my hon. Friend. It is true that farmers are having a very successful year in Scotland, but equally it is true that unless there are successful years the availability of food for consumers is at risk, The Government have an obligation to ensure that there are adequate food supplies. However, on the other hand, farmers cannot expect to be totally immune from the effect of inflation or from the economic problems of industry generally.

Leaving aside the infantile economic futility of a separate Scots pound, will the Minister urge his right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture to make a change quickly in the green pound instead of maintaining the 30 per cent, difference between it and the £ sterling? This difference compares with a 2 per cent, change in food prices which would result from an adjustment of the green pound.

I thought for a moment that the hon. Member was talking about me when he began his remarks. The green pound is under constant review, but we see a need to look at it in the context of the annual review, which is the most significant date in the farming calendar.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the withdrawal of the MV "Loch Carron" from service on the West Coast of Scotland.

My right hon. Friend accepted the unanimous recommendation by the Transport Users' Consultative Committee for Scotland that the cargo service between Glasgow and the Outer Isles, operated by the "Loch Carron" should be withdrawn after 31st October 1976. The current annual deficit on this service, which was met by revenue grant, was nearly £400,000, and with traffic down to about 5,000 tons this was a loss of £80 on every ton carried.

Is the Minister aware that the directive to the Scottish Transport Group from the Scottish Transport Users' Consultative Committee at the hearing last year was that the company should advertise more and improve its services? Nothing was done and, therefore, the company has, in effect, thumbed its nose at the directive. Will the Minister see that the permission is withdrawn?

I cannot accept that any operator would wish to withdraw what he regarded as a successful service. From the discussions we have had, I am satisfied that suitable arrangements have been made for alternative services for livestock and oil and fuel. The position regarding livestock services will be monitored, and this will be helpful.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what further plans he has to reduce the number of road accidents in Scotland which have resulted in fatalities and serious injury.

My right hon. Friend will continue to take and support measures designed to reduce such road accidents. Fatal and serious injury casualties for 1975 were the lowest since 1965.

Does not my hon. Friend agree that in the last few months the number of fatal and serious injury accidents in Scotland has been quite appalling, particularly at weekends? Many of these accidents happen in relatively quiet country roads where the traffic is not heavy. In any preventive measures he takes, will my hon. Friend accept the suggestion that warning notices or signs should be displayed more frequently in such roads to enable motorists to see that they should drive more carefully and with less speed?

I am always in favour of care on the roads, but I must disagree with my hon. Friend when he talks about a serious increase in the number of fatal accidents. My information is that the welcome trend which I have just announced continued through the first six months of this year. If my hon. Friend has a peculiar problem in his area I will be happy to discuss it with him. The Department has a road safety unit which, in addition to carrying out accident studies on trunk roads, advises local authorities about accident prevention. I will discuss with my right hon. Friend and my noble Friend later this week the suggestion about setting up notices.

Is the Minister aware that one of the most serious forms of accident is to children alighting from school buses? In recent months there have been some fatalities of this kind in my constituency. Will the Minister consider adopting the system of other countries in which school buses have flashing signs which prevent any traffic from moving when the bus has stopped? This not only prevents cars from overtaking school buses but it stops traffic from moving on the other side of the road. This would make a considerable contribution to road safety and would reassure many parents.

Of course, I am prepared to look at any suggestions from any side of the House.

Can the Minister say whether many of these fatal accidents were related to drink problems? Have the Government made any estimate of the increase or decrease in the number of road deaths as a result of the greatly extended drinking hours provided for in the Licensing (Scotland) Bill?

I cannot comment on the effects of the new licensing legislation because it has not yet come into effect. However, I share the hon. Member's concern about drinking and driving. The Government have accepted the recommendations in the Blennerhassett Report as a basis for new drink-and-drive regulations. These will be introduced as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take action to encourage an increase in planting in the private forestry sector in Scotland.

My right hon. Friend and his colleagues will be looking most carefully at the findings of the interdepartmental review group recently set up to consider the whole question of how private forestry is affected by Government policies on taxation, grants and amenities.

Does the Minister appreciate that timber represents our third biggest import bill, after fuel and food, and that Scotland has the largest percentage of area available for planting? Nevertheless, Scotland is bottom of the European league for the percentage of area under trees. Does the hon. Gentleman realise that if substantial tax incentives were given to the private sector of forestry this would make a great contribution to improving our balance of payments?

In general I would agree with the hon. Gentleman, but I must point out the inconsistency in increasing public expenditure to help the private sector. Of course, the balance of payments argument is one which everyone can accept. However, there is a dilemma here, and it is one which faces the Forestry Commission also: how much can any Government devote to an industry on which there will be no return for 40 or 50 years?

Will my hon. Friend resist totally the blandishments of those who wish to see valuable public resources going into private industry? Will he discuss the matter with the new Chairman of the Forestry Commission to ensure that that organisation has money available from the public sector for the growing of trees?

I share a lot of my hon. Friend's ideological ideas. We must, however, face the fact that about 50 per cent, of timber production comes from the private sector, and it would be irresponsible to ignore its contribution. Nevertheless, I have had discussions with the new Chairman of the Forestry Commission and one of my priorities is to ensure that the maximum effort is made in the public sector.

Does the Minister agree that what is really needed is a long-term consensus policy, subscribed to by all parties, so that the timber industry can get on with producing timber in the way it was able to do between the late 1940s and the disastrous Tory White Paper of 1972?

As usual, the Scottish National Party is riding about three horses. [An HON. MEMBER: " And falling off all of them."] They can attack both Governments—

Yes, both Governments.

I cannot reply to all these interjections. To do so would take too long. The hon. Member for Galloway (Mr. Thompson) should appreciate that the SNP is in a unique position. It can attack both Governments on the basis of all sorts of unrealistic things, as it has done particularly with regard to forestry. There would be hardly any room for a sheep, never mind for beef farming, if the SNP had its way.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from local authorities concerning the levels of rate support grant.

At my meeting with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on 5th November, I informed authorities that the rate support grant settlement for 1977–78 will be related to the February 1976 White Paper on Public Expenditure, Cmnd 6393. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has conveyed to me the views of member authorities that the reductions in local authority expenditure would entail the curtailment of services and some redundancy.

Has the right hon. Gentleman found a solution to the difficult problem of ensuring that local authorities which have kept within the expenditure targets do not find themselves penalised through the rate support grant mechan- ism in respect of authorities which have exceeded their expenditure targets?

The guidelines were not meant to be absolute, because the Scottish Office does not have the kind of information that would enable us to lay down firm lines. The guidelines were meant to be indications of what would be reasonable, given that we wanted authorities to keep within an overall target I am sorry that there is no mechanism within the rate support grant that can be identified and be acceptable to the local authorities themselves to enable me to do what the hon. Gentleman suggests. I know that this is a sore point with local authorities which feel that they have co-operated with the Government and that they are being penalised. If I could deal with that problem I should be happy to attempt to do so, but so far I have seen no way of doing that, and I think that local authorities take the same view as I do.

Sensitive as I am to the dangers of special pleading, may I none the less ask my right hon. Friend whether he recognises that Lothian Region has something of a special problem because of the new town of Livingston, as regards both size and the state it is at as a new town?

Livingston is not the only new town in Scotland. Every local authority feels that it has a special problem of one sort or another.

I acknowledge the need for government at all levels to contribute to cuts in public expenditure, but would not the right hon. Gentleman get more co-operation from local authorities if he first set his own house in order, and that of the central Government, by cutting back new schemes of public expenditure or reducing the burden of legislation which passes down to local authorities? Would it not be much better if he were to proceed on the basis of co-operation instead of dictation?

The hon. Gentleman has, as usual, dodged the issue of local government expenditure by pretending that there is some painless way of getting local government expenditure under the kind of control that the Government have indicated. The hon. Gentleman pretends in this House that it can all be done painlessly when it comes down to local level, but the leader of the Conservative Group on Strathclyde Regional Council only last week was calling for a further reduction in public expenditure, at the expense of 5,000 jobs. Is that what the hon. Gentleman wants?

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the operation of the Social Work (Scotland) Act.

In the seven years since most of the provisions of the Act came into operation, the social work services have developed into a major instrument for helping people in need and for promoting the social welfare of the community generally. The increase in local authority expenditure on social work—which has almost doubled in the last five years—is reflected in substantially increased staff and other resources.

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that children's panels set up under the Act have been undermined by the fact that List D schools are greatly overcrowded and in some areas social work departments are overloaded and can only cope with emergency cases? Does he think, as many of us on this side do, that it would be a good idea to re-establish a separate probation service?

I do not share that view. Perhaps I may give the figures of the numbers involved in social work in Scotland. In 1970 the figure was 7,978, while in 1974 it was 12,800. The hon. Gentleman has several times raised with me the question of waiting lists at List D schools. Indeed, this was the subject of an Adjournment debate. In June 1975 there were 576 on the waiting list, and on 17th October of this year that figure was down to 362. Next week my Department is having a meeting with all the people involved in the running of List D schools and on the agenda, at my request, is a proposal to look at the whole question of List D accommodation. I have recently visited many of the List D schools. I found that one in Aberdeen had 20 empty places. I want that examined. I believe that we should look for a better way of allocating places and that if we were to succeed in finding it the figure of 362 would be substantially reduced.

Is my hon. Friend aware of a considerable lack of liaison between regional social work departments and district housing authorities, particularly in relation to the problem of battered wives? Will he consider transferring the social work departments to district council authorities?

That is not a matter for me. I realise the concern that exists about battered wives, and I can tell my hon. Friend that in Edinburgh on Monday my hon. Friend who is responsible for Scottish housing and I will be meeting a joint group of the housing and social work departments of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss the problem to which my hon. Friend has referred.

Will the hon. Gentleman take the greatest care to ensure that reductions in social work expenditure do not lead ultimately to increased expenditure? For example, is he aware that on a grant of less than £100,000 the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children spends £500,000 every year on essential work, and that if this grant were withdrawn the net cost to the Exchequer and public expenditure would be very much greater?

I am aware of the great work done by the Royal Society. We all applaud its efforts. It does a wonderful job all over Scotland. Subventions come in the main through local authorities as social work provision, and the Government have not asked local authorities to make any cuts at all. The provision for social work in the rate support grant settlement for 1976–77 was 3 per cent, above that for last year. I appreciate the many demands made upon local authorities for social work, but the priorities within a region for social work and other services are determined by local authorities. It is not an easy task for them, and we are co-operating as much as possible. I hope that the initiative that I have taken with church leaders and other bodies will help in some way to take care of the problem rightly raised by the hon. Gentleman.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that a year has elapsed since the debate on the Children Bill when he indicated to the House that working parties were looking into the provisions of the Social Work (Scotland) Act? What has happened since then? When will these bodies report, and when can action be expected in terms of legislation?

A number of committees are considering the whole question of the Act about which the hon. Gentleman asks and in which he took a great interest when it was going through the House. My right hon. Friend has been consulting many bodies on the whole question of children and children's panels and reparations. I hope that the submissions coming in will be made known in a statement by my right hon. Friend some time in the near future.

Is my hon. Friend aware of the statement by the Lothian Regional Council that if the Government do not alter their position on the rate support grant the council will be required to cut home help services by 10 per cent, and close at least one old folk's home? How can that be reconciled with the spirit of the Social Work (Scotland) Act?

I am not aware of the position with regard to home helps in the Lothian Region, but I take it that what my hon. Friend says is correct. Perhaps I can give the figures for the total number of home helps. In 1970, 33,000 households were receiving home help services. In 1974, the number was 56,000. In Glasgow, the area which I know best, although there was a rationalisation of home help services, more families were getting the service from home helps; but I appreciate the position outlined by my hon. Friend.

The fact that there is no List D accommodation at all in the Highlands Region is a matter of grave concern in the region. Can the hon. Gentleman see his way to reconsidering his attitude to the Kinmylies project?

The hon. Gentleman refers to the Kinmylies project. I had a good meeting with the Highland Region in St. Andrew's House on the whole question of List D provision in the Highlands Region. The region appreciates the difficulties of the Government at the present time. I said that although we were keen on the project we were considering looking at the phasing of it. I want to be honest with the House. I cannot give a date, but the whole question of List D provision and the way in which it will be disbursed into local authorities' care is being actively considered by my right hon. Friend.