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Lords Amendment No. 33: in page 14, line 7, after "1973" insert:
or such later date as the Secretary of State may authorise in the case of that authority generally or in any particular case".
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
Mr. Deputy SpeakerWith this we are taking the following Lords Amendments:
No. 34, in page 14, line 9, leave out "undertakes" and insert "undertake".
No. 35, in page 14, line 17, at end insert:
(c) the company's charges for the supply of water420 No. 36, in page 14, line 28, after "or" insert:either of the parties may,".No. 37, in page 14, line 29, leave out "may".No. 38, in page 14, line 33, at end insert:
( ) The Secretary of State shall not so settle or vary arrangements under this section as to oblige the company to fix their charges at a level which will endanger their ability, so long as their undertaking is managed efficiently, to provide a reasonable return on their paid-up capital, having regard to their probable future expenditure and to the need to provide for any contributions which they may lawfully carry to any reserve fund or contingency fund, to make good depreciation (in so far as provision therefor is not made by any such fund as aforesaid) and to meet all other costs, charges and expenses properly chargeable to revenue".No. 40, in page 14, line 39, leave out subsection (7) and insert—(7) Subject to the provisions of any order made under section 254 of the 1972 Act as applied by section 31 below, so much of the enactments relating to the undertaking of a statutory water company as imposes on the company any duty to supply water, except Part VIII of Schedule 3 to the Water Act 1945 (supply for public purposes) and any local statutory provision which is similar to any provision of that Part, shall cease to have effect.No. 42, transpose the last two subsections of clause 11 to the end of the second of the clauses into which clause 6 is divided.No. 44, in page 17, line 21, at end insert—
except any such reference in section 24(4) of the said Act of 1936,".No. 45, in page 18, line 19, at beginning insert—Subject to subsection (5A) below".No. 46, in page 19, line 16, leave out "or main drainage authority".No. 47, in page 19, line 18, leave out subsection (4) and insert—
(4) Subject to subsection (5A) below, a water authority shall, not later than 1st November 1973 or such later date as the Secretary of State may authorise in the case of that authority generally or in any particular case, send to every relevant authority with whom they are under a duty to endeavour to make arrangements under subsection (1) above a draft of the arrangements with the relevant authority.(5) Subject to subsection (5A) below".421 No. 48, in page 19, line 29, at end insert—
(5A) If at any time before arrangements are settled under this section a water authority and a relevant authority come to the conclusion that in the interests of efficiency it would be inexpedient to enter into any arrangements under subsection (1) above or, as the case may be, to be bound by arrangements settled by the Secretary of State under subsection (5) above—No. 49, in page 20, line 7, leave out "a" and insert "the".
- (a) the water authority shall not take the action required by subsection (4) or (5) above; or
- (b) where the water authority have already notified the Secretary of State under subsection (5) above that arrangements have not been entered into, they shall further notify him of the conclusion and he shall not settle the terms of the arrangements."
§ Mr. GriffithsIt is necessary to say a word only about Lords Amendment No. 33. The date by which a water authority must send to a statutory water company the draft arrangements to be entered into for the performance of its functions is 1st November 1973 as the clause stands.
In Committee the Opposition said that this was perhaps a date that would be hard to meet in so far as the reorganisation is considerable. We have no reason to suppose that the date is impracticable, but we accept that it is wise to be flexible, and this the amendment allows us to be flexible.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Subsequent Lords Amendments agreed to.
§
Lords Amendment No. 41 in page 14, line 42, leave out subsection (8) and insert:
(8) For sections 12 and 13 of the Water Act 1945 (supply of water in bulk and default powers) there shall be substituted the sections set out in Part I of Schedule [Supply of water in bulk and default powers] to this Act.
(9) Sections 2(1)(b) and (4) and 4(2) to (4) of the Water Act 1948 (which also relate to the supply of water in bulk) shall cease to have effect.
(10) Part II of Schedule [Supply of water in bulk and default powers] to this Act shall have effect in relation to the making and confirmation of orders by a water authority under sections 12 and 13 of the Water Act 1945 as substituted by Part I of that Schedule.
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
Mr. Deputy SpeakerWith this we are taking the following Lords Amendments:
No. 43, leave out Clause 12.
No. 97, in page 39, line 18, leave out "(6) (7) and (8)" and insert: "and (6) to (11), except subsections (9) and (11) so far as relating to section 12 of the Water Act 1945".
No. 98, in page 39, leave out line 19.
No. 123, in page 60, line 26, at end insert New Schedule A—Supply of water in bulk by agreement or compulsorily.
No. 191, in page 95, line 57, leave out from beginning to end of line 16 on page 96.
§ Mr. GriffithsThese amendments refer specifically to the problems of bulk water supply. The new Schedule and the other amendments set out in a much more comprehensible and satisfactory form certain essential but non-controversial provisions about the bulk supply of water to statutory water undertakings and the taking of default action by a water authority against a statutory water company where necessary.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Subsequent Lords Amendments agreed to.