§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What role the National Rivers Authority and the Office of Water Services will have in monitoring the activities of the waste management and disposal firms with which some of the private water supply companies are now entering into commercial association.
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Baroness Blatch)The Director General of Water Services is responsible for ensuring that companies appointed as water and sewerage undertakers comply with the terms of their Instruments of Appointment. His role in relation to other activities in which a holding company may become involved is to40WA ensure that those activities do not impact adversely on the core business or its customers. He therefore monitors contracts between the core company and associated companies to prevent adverse transfer pricing, and is proposing to require the directors of the core company to provide an annual certificate confirming that they have adequate financial and management resources available to them. The directors would be required to renew this certificate whenever any diversification took place which might have a material effect on the finances of the core.
The National Rivers Authority will be involved with waste management and disposal firms only in so far as waste disposal sites impact, or are likely to impact, on the quality of water.