§ 22. Mr. John Hallasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if it is his intention to introduce legislation to require all water provided for private and industrial purposes to be metered.
§ Mr. MacCollNo, Sir.
§ Mr. HallIs the hon. Gentleman aware that there are two very good reasons why this legislation should be introduced? First, there is the unfairness between those who pay for unmetered and metered water. The person who gets metered water pays far more. Secondly, there is likely to be an increasingly grave shortage of water in this country and we must do all we can to conserve this natural resource.
§ Mr. MacCollIt is usual for water undertakers to maintain a balance between the charges on metered payers and people paying on rates. The difficulty, which appeared from the report of the subcommittee on the subject, is that, in many cases, the cost of metering is out of proportion for the small consumer.