ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS OF NATIONAL WATER COUNCIL (Hansard, 17 July 1973)

§ The Minister for Local Government and Development (Mr. Graham Page)
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Robert Grant-Ferris)
With this we shall also consider Lords Amendment No. 72, in Clause 23, page 28, line 20, leave out from "authorities "to end of line 21 and insert: likely to be affected by the matters mentioned below".

§ Mr. Page
Lords Amendment No. 9 provides an addition to the research and planning functions of the National Water Council. The National Water Council has the duty to promote and assist the efficient performance by water authorities of their functions", and their planning functions are contained in Clause 23. The words used in the amendment cover the general duty of the National Water Council to promote and assist the efficient performance by water authorities of their functions of planning.
Lords Amendment No. 72 takes effect in this way. Clause 23 requires a water authority, in carrying out its planning functions, to consult adjacent water authorities. The plans of a given water authority may have interrelationships not only with those of adjacent authorities but with those of authorities farther afield, and Amendment No. 72 provides for this.

§ Mr. Gordon Oakes (Widnes)
I should like to know just how far this Lords amendment goes. The right hon. Gentleman will remember that in Committee we discussed in some considerable detail the duties and functions of the National Water Council in relation to regional water authorities, with particular reference to schemes such as the Wash barrage, the Morecambe barrage, and so on. It was felt by many hon. Members that the National Water Council should—I was going to use the expression "take over", but I will not—have considerable influence on schemes which really were beyond the purview of a regional water authority.
Lords Amendment No. 9 says: and their functions with respect to the preparation, review and provisions of plans under section 23 below. Is it envisaged in this amendment that when a major scheme is proposed such as a barrage scheme, the regional water authorities will leave it to the National Water Authority to prepare such plans on a national basis? One of the purposes of the Bill is to ensure that throughout the whole of the country the wetter West can supply the more populated and drier East. That would seem to be a function of the National Water Authority rather than the regional authorities. Will the amendment meet the attempt which was made in Committee? I think it will. It goes a long way, but will it go as far as was wanted in Committee?

§ Mr. Page
The amendment goes as far as the Bill now stands with this amendment. In Clause 4(5) the words are: It shall be the duty of the Council"— I read on to sub-paragraph (b) which says: to promote and assist the efficient performance by water authorities of their functions, and in particular, their functions relating to research;". There will be added to those words by Amendment No. 9 of another place: and their functions with respect to the preparation, review and provision of plans under section 23 below. Section 23 covers a wide area of planning.
That does not mean that the National Water Council will take over the planning functions of the regional water authorities. It means what it says. It will promote and assist the regional water 413 authorities to carry out those functions. If a regional authority is called upon to develop within its area a supply or a conservation which will benefit other areas, it will seek the assistance of the National Water Council to carry out that development. That is the purpose of these clauses. The National Water Council will promote and assist the regional authorities when the operations of the regional authorities extend in importance beyond the boundaries of their authority.

§ Mr. Idris Owen (Stockport, North)
In the planning of water resources, shall we reach a position when the new water authorities will adequately plan for the needs of the community? From time immemorial we seem to have been in a dilemma whenever we have had a period of fine weather. During the last weeks of June we had a period of fine weather. It was not long before the water authorities were talking about the conservation of water supplies. They were talking about the rationing of water and asking that there should be no watering of gardens and no washing of cars.
I recall from my local government experience that we had only to have a few weeks of drought before the water authorities became panic stricken. I hope that my right hon. Friend will be able to assure me that an adequate water supply will be available for this country's needs after the new authorities begin to operate. After all is said and done, we are not on the Equator.
We have adequate water supplies but we have inefficient conservation of water. That has led to unreasonable restrictions being placed upon consumers whenever there has been a short spell of fine weather. It has become farcical when water authorities have had to ask for water conservation after a brief spell of summer weather. I hope that the new water authorities will adequately plan for the needs of the community.

§ Mr. Page
I assure my hon. Friend that that is the whole purpose of the Bill. We do not have an inadequate water supply. We merely have to plan the supply so that it is shared out fairly. It is that planning which is of such importance. Such planning is involved over wide areas which are covered by each of the regional water authorities set out in 414 the Bill. This is the whole purpose. My hon. Friend has put his finger on the basis of the Bill. In future, we shall be able to plan what we have in this country—an adequate water supply.