WATER BILL. [H.L.]

HL Deb 09 December 1947 vol 153 cc86-101

6.22 p.m.

Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee read

Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(The Earl of Listowel.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

House in Committee accordingly:

[The Viscount Mersey in the Chair.]

Clause 1 agreed to.

Clause 2 [Combination of certain orders under principal Act]:

The SECRETARY of STATE for BURMA (The Earl of Listowel) moved to omit subsections (1), (2) and (3) and to insert in lieu: ("(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, an order under Section twenty-three of the principal Act, made on the application of persons who propose to become statutory water undertakers and authorising those persons to supply water, may provide—

1. (a) for the transfer, by agreement, to the applicants of the undertaking or part of the undertaking of any water undertakers, whether statutory or not;
2. (b) for requiring any statutory water undertakers to give to the applicants, or the applicants to give to any such undertakers, a supply of water in bulk (whether within or outside their limits of supply), and for requiring the applicants or those undertakers, as the case may be, to take such a supply;
3. (c) for authorising the compulsory acquisition by the applicants of such rights to take water from any stream or other source as may be specified in the order.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, an order under Section nine of the principal Act, providing for the constitution of a joint board or joint committee of two or more statutory water undertakers or for the amalgamation of the undertakings or parts of the undertakings of two or more statutory water undertakers, may make provision, in relation to the undertakers constituted by the order, for any purpose authorised by the last foregoing subsection 1n relation to the applicants for an order under Section twenty-three of the principal Act, and may provide—

1. (a) for authorising the undertakers to construct, acquire by agreement, alter or continue, and to maintain, waterworks and works connected therewith;
2. (b) for authorising the undertakers to raise capital or borrow money for any purposes of their water undertaking.

(3) An order under Section twenty-three section nine of the principal Act which makes provision for any purpose authorised by this section may contain such incidental, consequential and supplementary provisions as the Minister thinks necessary or expedient for the purposes of the order, including provisions for the amendment or repeal of any local enactment and for the transfer of property and liabilities:

Provided that no such order shall empower the undertakers to acquire compulsorily any land, or shall vary compulsorily the amount of compensation water required by any enactment to be discharged into any water course or the periods during which or the manner in which such compensation water is required to be discharged.

(4) Where application is made under the said Section twenty-three or Section nine, as the case may, be, for an order requiring any statutory water undertakers to (give or take a supply of water in bulk, a copy of the notice of the application required by Part I of the First Schedule to the principal Act (which regulates the procedure for making orders under the sections aforesaid) shall be served in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 3 of that Schedule—

1. (a) on those undertakers; and
2. (b) on the catchment board for any catch-meat area, the fishery board for any fishery 88 district, and any river board having jurisdiction over any water-course, from which water is taken by the persons who are to give the bulk supply."

The noble Earl said

The Committee will remember that during the Second Reading a number of complaints were made that the Bill was mute about certain matters that should have been made explicit in the text. My right honourable friend the Minister and I have taken these strictures to heart, and with the assistance of officials and Parliamentary draftsmen, and the valuable help of the noble Lord, Lord Llewellin, we have considerably altered the body of the Bill in order to reduce, so far as possible, the instances of reference to existing Statutes. I make this preliminary observation, because this principle covers the large number of Amendments which I have tabled.

The first of these is the one to which I am now speaking. What we are trying to do in this redrafted Clause 2 is to put words into the Bill to set out the principles required, by which an order under Section 9 or Section 23 of the Water Act, 1945, may be made. Clause 2 as drafted refers only to those provisions in the corresponding Act in which these principles are now set out. Your Lordships will observe, however, that in subsections (2) and (3) as redrafted it is said in terms that an order may authorize various things—the transference of an existing undertaking to a new undertaker by agreement, giving and taking of bulk supplies of water, acquisition of water rights and so on. I hope that this new Clause 2 will go some distance to meet the criticisms that were expressed by several noble Lords about the excessive use of references to existing Acts. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 2, line 4, leave out from beginning to end of line 38, and insert the said new subsections.—(The Earl of Listowel.)

Lord LLEWELLIN

I am obliged to the noble Earl for this redraft of the first three subsections of Clause 2. Your Lord ships will remember that I made a number of references to the difficulties of reading the Bill for the general public, and several noble Lords supported me in the plea that we should have something much more understandable. These new subsections seem to me to meet that point. I am much obliged to the noble Earl, and those who worked with him, in the steps they have taken to meet our point not only in this clause but in a number of other Amendments. I would like to thank the noble Earl for taking me into consultation. I hope that we may be said between us to have improved the drafting of this Bill. I am one of those who always think that the context of Bills should be as easy as possible to understand by those who have to work them. We are grateful and accept this Amendment.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 2, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 3 [Compulsory acquisition of land by new undertakers]:

The Earl of LISTOWEL moved, in subsection (1), to omit "confirmed by the Minister if." The noble Earl said: May I speak to this Amendment and to the three following Amendments together? The object of all these Amendments is to meet the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Llewellin, during the course of the Second Reading debate. The noble Lord pointed out at that time that the drafting of Clause 3 subsection (1) was somewhat ambiguous and might lead to the confirmation of a compulsory purchase order before the order permitting the authority to supply water had been made. In such an event the authority might be saddled with land in spite of the fact that they have no power to use it. This Amendment makes certain that the compulsory purchase order will not be confirmed until the water order has been made. With that object in view, and in the hope it meets the requirements of the noble Lord opposite, I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 3 line 13, leave out ("confirmed by the Minister if").—(The Earl of Listowel.)

Lord LLEWELLIN

Again, I am obliged to the noble Earl. I am glad that he and his advisers saw, when I pointed it out, that in the original draft power could be given to an authority which was not subsequently made a water authority. These Amendments completely meet this point.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

The Earl of LISTOWEL

I beg to move the next three Amendments, which are consequential.

Amendments moved—

Page 3, line 16, after the second ("the") insert ("last-mentioned")

Page 3, line 17, after the first ("effect") insert: ("(a) A compulsory purchase order so made and submitted may, if the order under the said Section twenty-three or Section nine, as the case may be, is made, be confirmed by the Minister")

Page 3, line 18, leave out from ("undertakers") to end of line 19, and insert ("thereby authorised to purchase the land").—(The Earl of Listowel.)

On Question, Amendments agreed to,

The Earl of LISTOWEL

This is also consequential. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 3, line 20, after ("Act") insert ("(which regulates the procedure for making and confirming compulsory purchase orders under that Act where the purchaser is not a local authority)").—(The Earl of Listowel.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

The Earl of LISTOWEL

This is drafting. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 3, line 25, at end insert ("(which regulates the procedure for making and confirming such orders where the purchaser is a local authority)")—(The Earl of Listowel.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 3, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 4 [Supply of water in bulk]:

The Earl of LISTOWEL

This is another drafting Amendment which endeavours to make clear in the text of the Bill what would otherwise have been a reference to an existing Statute. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 3, line 32, at end insert ("(which authorize the making of agreements between statutory water undertakers and other persons for the supply of water in bulk)").—(The Earl of Listowel.)

Lord LLEWELLIN

Again I am obliged. I think it makes it clear.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

The Earl of LISTOWEL

Again ths Amendment is to clarify the originally (I confess) somewhat obscure text of the Bill. What we want to make perfectly plain is that the new undertaker may be authorized by the Minister to supply water in bulk only, and not to deal with it retail. Although that was the intention from the start, I must agree with the noble Lord opposite that it did not emerge with crystal clarity in the original draft. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 3, line 40, leave out from ("bulk") to end of line 42, and insert ("only").—(The Earl of Listowel.)

Lord LLEWELLIN

I am obliged to the noble Earl. I think that substituting the word "only" for nearly two lines, and thereby making the whole thing much clearer, is a considerable improvement in the drafting which we are able to accept. I must say that I read through the original words several times and wondered why they were put in at all. The word "only" makes it quite plain what is meant.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

The Earl of LISTOWEL

This is another drafting Amendment. It states the general effect of paragraph 8 of the First Schedule of the principal Act, which has not before been stated in the text. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 4, line 11, after ("Act") insert ("(which provides that in certain circumstances an order under section twenty-three of the principal Act shall be subject to special parliamentary procedure)").—(The Earl of Listowel.)

Lord LLEWELLIN

If I may suggest it to the noble Earl, I think we may take the rest of this type of Amendment without any explanation from him. Several noble Lords on this side of the House, and particularly the noble Lord, Lord Broughshane, raised the point as to whether when we referred to an Act, or to an order, the effect of it could not be put in brackets afterwards, so that those who were reading this Bill (or Act as it will become) would not in each case have to refer back to see what the original clause was about. This is the first of the Amendments dealing with the point which was made. I am obliged to the noble Earl for putting them down, and, if I may say so, my thanks will be recorded on this the first of those Amendments. If I may be so bold as to suggest it, time will be saved if the other Amendments are taken as consequential Amendments on the principle which the noble Earl has been good enough to adopt.

The Earl of LISTOWEL

I willingly agree to the noble Lord's suggestion.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

The Earl of LISTOWEL

This is the same type of Amendment. I beg to move

Amendment moved— Page 4, line 14, after ("Schedule") insert ("(which provides that in certain other circumstances an order under Section twelve of the principal Act approving an agreement for a bulk supply shall be subject to special parliamentary procedure)").—(The Earl of Listowel.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 4, as amended, agreed to.

The Earl of PORTSMOUTH moved, after Clause 4, to insert the following new clause:

Relief to owners of wells, etc.

"—(1) If a complaint is made to the Minister that the supply of water available from any well, borehole or other work for the abstraction of underground water (in this section referred to as "affected source") belonging to or under the control of the person making the complaint (in this section referred to as "the complainant") has been or is being diminished as a result of the abstraction of underground water by means of a well, borehole or other work the construction or extension of which was authorised or approved by the Minister in pursuance of the powers conferred on him in that behalf by the principal Act or the Public Health Act, 1936 (in this section referred to as "authorised work") and that the complainant is injuriously affected thereby, the Minister may cause an injury to be held into the matter.

(2) If, after an inquiry has been held in pursuance of the last foregoing subsection the Minister is satisfied that—

1. (a) the supply of water available from the affected source has been or is being diminished and that the complainant is injuriously affected thereby; and
2. (b) the diminution is due to the abstraction of underground water by means of the authorised work; and
3. (c) the complainant, or the person having the ownership or control of the affected source at the time when application was made to the Minister for his authorisation or approval of the construction or extension of the authorised work, took such steps as were available to him at that time to obtain in respect of the affected source relief against the anticipated effect on that source of the abstraction of underground water by means of the authorised work; and
4. (d) the enactment authorising the construction or extension of the authorised work, or as the case may be the instrument by means of which the Minister's approval of the authorised work was given, does not contain any provision or condition for the protection or benefit of the complainant or 93 other person as aforesaid such as would enable the complainant or that other person to prevent or be relieved against the injurious affection caused to him by the abstraction of water by means of the authorised work;

the Minister may by order impose such condition subject to which water may be abstracted by means of the authorised work as the Minister thinks necessary or expedient for the purposes of affording to the complainant relief against the injurious affection complained of and (without prejudice to the generality of this provision) any such order may require the owner or other person for the time being having control of the authorised work at his option either—

1. (i) to afford, or cause to be afforded, to the complainant a supply of water equal to the amount of the diminution; or
2. (ii) at the expense of such owner or other person, to make such alterations in the pumping equipment installed at the affected source, whether by way of enlarging or altering the position of the equipment or installing fresh equipment, as will make good the diminution; or
3. (iii) at the expense of such owner or other person, to deepen the affected source to such extent or make such borings therein, or headings therefrom, as will make good the diminution; or
4. (iv) to make compensation in money for the diminution.

Provided that where such owner or other person elects to afford or cause to be afforded a supply of water under paragraph (1) hereof, the charge to the complainant for such a supply shall not exceed the amount by which the cost to the complainant of obtaining his supply before the diminution exceeds the cost to him of obtaining the diminished supply."

The noble Earl said: I gave notice to the noble Earl, Lord Huntingdon, on the Second Reading of this Bill, that I would move to introduce this new clause after Clause 4. Its design is to make certain, so far as possible, that there is care and circumspection at every stage, when tapping underground water supplies, in order to see that existing water supplies are not endangered—water supplies which have often been produced with considerable care and at great cost, and upon which a large part of the neighbourhood may already depend. The levity with which we, as a nation, approach our underground water supply is scandalous; and such levity is not confined to either side of this House. We are in the position to-day of quite possibly exhausting, merely for temporary purposes, supplies which are likely to cause damage to our whole rural ecology. We need time to think, and though in the short time at our disposal it was not possible to draft out the ideal new clause for this protection I hope the noble Earl will give the matter very serious consideration between now and the Report stage.

Underground water is very important; it is the bloodstream of our countryside. A new undertaking can cut off that blood-stream and confine to one part of the body of the local countryside what ought to be circulated to all parts. There are two points to be considered. One is the immediate effect of any particular scheme that is proposed. I take as an example a scheme proposing to take 1,000,000 gallons of water a day from underground sources for a local district. Will that, or will it not, seriously affect other water schemes in the neighbourhood? Can the countryside stand such a sudden drainage of its underground water system? Is the rainfall in the collecting area enough? On the other hand, even if it is proved to normal satisfaction that such a scheme can be afforded by the countryside, we must remember that there is hardly a water scheme in the country which in the course of ten or fifteen years does not double itself. And 1,000,000 gallons to-day may truly become 2,000,000 gallons a day in five years' time. It goes on unnoticed, probably until a period of long drought years, so that you get an appearance of safety until the moment when the drought year appears; then there is a complete collapse and no water in the countryside at all.

The clause which I propose to insert does not go very far in giving protection. It does not, for instance, protect the water table of the countryside, which is a serious matter for cropping, and so forth, in the low-lying parts of the country. It does not protect the mills worked by water. Nor does it protect overground irrigation. But it is an effort to see that the users of existing water supplies are protected. It may be said that we are asking His Majesty's Government to give special consideration to public undertakers, when private undertakers under Common Law can rob their neighbour of water, and that this is asking the public authority to do what a private citizen would not do. I think there is a serious difference here, in that the public supplier—and there are many cases of which one knows—can bore for water, not only to supply the local district, but to supply an area quite outside the watershed. I would like to give two examples to reinforce what I am saying.

The first is an example of something which has taken place quite close to my own home, in the county of Hampshire, and deals with the Winchester rural district scheme for supplying water. There the new water bore is going to affect an area which, excluding one or two unsurveyed parts of it, has something like 3,000 cattle, 1,400 sheep, a certain number of pigs, 178 cottages, and, which is even more important, 37 farms and private house on an acreage of 11,000 acres. Experts may say that nothing like that area will be affected by the proposal. Others may say that only part may be affected; some may be very frightened, as I am, that the whole may be affected. But there is no redress for the diminution or cessation of water supplies of that area in general once the water bore has gone down. At the inquiry, the owners asked, for the benefit of the countryside, that an effective test should be arranged. That test was turned down. If there was no fear of the water supplies being diminished, then surely that test should have been allowed. If there was fear of the water supplies being diminished locally, then it is obviously unjust that the scheme should go on.

There is a case in Yorkshire where an area has been scheduled for permanent market gardening under the Town Planning, and where irrigation takes place. The Hull authority, I think it is, are refusing any further water bore holes for irrigation for market gardening and are themselves insisting on boring and supplying in future. Now you cannot supply market garden schemes for irrigation at an economic rate, whether it is 3s. 6d. a thousand gallons or 1s. 2d. a thousand gallons. I am not saying that the whole question of irrigation should not be carefully looked into and should not be carefully weighed, but I do think it is wrong that market gardeners who are relying on underground sources should be deprived of water except at a scale of payment or a scale of storage which would make the whole thing completely uneconomic. In those circumstances very serious consideration should be given before a scheme is embarked upon.

I ask the noble Earl to consider this clause very seriously, and to see if the existing owners of water supplies—who are already doing a reasonable job, pro- bably undertaken at great expense—should not be safeguarded by the most stringent inquiry before the public authority undertake to intervene to abstract from underground sources water which may affect those supplies. If that does happen, 3,000 cattle cannot be watered at once, and the whole countryside will be in a state of collapse because of an abstraction undertaken on a wrong calculation by the experts without careful survey. I beg to move.

Amendment moved—

After Clause 4 insert the said new clause.—(The Earl of Portsmouth.)

The Earl of LISTOWEL

I am sure we are all in sympathy with the noble Earl's desire to conserve the water resources of the countryside and to prevent any public authority taking water if by doing so they may seriously damage some other rural interest—a food producing interest, perhaps, which may be a matter not only of local but of national importance at a time like this. I hope I can satisfy the noble Earl that in fact such interests are protected. The position is that the Minister does not give his consent to a water undertaking unless he is satisfied that other interests in the area where the water undertaking will operate are safeguarded.

May I explain the technicalities as briefly as I can? Statutory water undertakings supplying under local Acts must obtain the Minister's approval if they wish to construct works for the abstraction of water from underground. Local authorities supplying water under the Public Health Act, 1936, must also obtain the Minister's approval under that Act. In the former case these provisions cover all the different water authorities. The Minister can, and does, in fact, include protective provisions when they are required. In the latter case the Minister can refuse his consent if he is satisfied that the protection is necessary and that the local authority making the application is unwilling to enter into an agreement with owners who may be injured by the works they propose to set up. I think that affords a very general safeguard for other rural interests.

There is a difficulty which arises from the way in which the new Clause 1s drafted, which I think is one the noble Earl touched upon, and which he would probably not wish the Government to accept provided that his other points were met. It is quite true, as the noble Earl points out, that his clause as it stands is somewhat unfair and one-sided, because it would place local water undertakers under an obligation to pay compensation from which, for instance, farmers or industrial concerns supplying their own water would be exempt. There is, as the noble Earl rightly said, no obligation under the Common Law on any person taking water from underground to compensate another person if his extraction should interfere with the latter's supply. We cannot feel that there is any good reason why local authorities or statutory undertakers whose works have been approved by the Minister should subsequently be placed in a worse position than private individuals or firms, if the water they are taking depletes supplies belonging to other individuate or firms or which other local authorities or statutory water undertakers may want. I feel it is extremely important that the general principle enunciated by the noble Earl should be adhered to, and I shall examine the wording of this clause again, in consultation with my advisers, in order to make absolutely sure that the interests of other water users are adequately safeguarded. If I find that there is any loophole, or if any suggestion made by the noble Earl in the course of his speech throws doubt upon any existing security, I will certainly myself propose an Amendment at the next stage of the Bill.

Lord LLEWELLIN

We have all listened attentively to what the noble Earl has just said. When he said that it is in the hands of the Minister and that the Minister will always see that other interests are safeguarded, I would like him to ask about this particular case. I do not know of it directly myself, but I am told that in the Winchester case a deep bore is to be put down which may adversely affect quite a number of cottages, the watering of cattle, sheep and livestock. In that case the Winchester Rural District Council was quite prepared to give an undertaking, if there was any diminution of supplies through their borehole, to supply water to the affected areas—which, after all, is only right. I am told that when it came up to the Ministry, the Ministry forbade that and said that they were not to make such an arrangement. I would ask the noble Earl to look into that case, because if it is true I must say that his assurance as to what line the Ministry will take in other cases falls a little flat. I have that information only on hearsay.

It seems to me that we should get clearly fixed in our minds that if some public borehole authority come and take away the necessary water from existing dwellings and dry up their wells, it ought to be incumbent on that authority to supply the people with water. Something of that sort ought to be embodied in this Bill, so that we ensure that these ever-increasing demands which the people of this country make for water are met, and that provision is made in cottages for bathrooms and water closets and things of that sort if one can get them. At any rate the demand is making a very great drain on supplies, and one must not overlook the fact that this taking away of supplies may be depriving some of our essential industries, such as agriculture, of water. I hope that the noble Lord will look into that matter again before the Report stage. I think we ought to have something in this measure which will indeed apply not only to statutory water undertakers but to anybody who is taking out water by mechanical pumping means, and so forth. Those who take water supplies ought to be made to compensate those from whom they are taking it away; otherwise it will be more and more difficult to get people on the farms. They will not be anxious to go there if they know they will have to carry water to their cottages in buckets. And it will certainly be most difficult to water properly the increased livestock or even the existing livestock that is so necessary to the country.

The Earl of LISTOWEL

I will very gladly go into the matter again. I propose to examine much more closely the whole question of safeguards for these rural users of water and I hope to be able to make a fuller statement on Report stage. If necessary, I will myself table an Amendment to meet the point.

The Earl of PORTSMOUTH

I should like to thank the noble Earl very much for his sympathetic reply. I feel very strongly about unauthorized water users drying up their neighbour's supplies. The danger is far greater with the public user in the countryside than it is with the private user. As the noble Lord, Lord Llewellin, has pointed cut, one of the things which prompted me to move to introduce this clause was the very doubtful consideration we had had, as far as I could see, from the Minister on the Winchester case. On the understanding that the noble Earl will seriously consider every side of this question between now and Report stage, I beg leave to withdraw my Amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clause 4 agreed to.

6.53 p.m.

Clause 5:

Amendments to s. 14 of principal Act.

(3) References in the said Section fourteen to the construction or extension of any well, borehole, or other work for the purpose of abstracting underground water shall be deemed to include references to the installation or modification of machinery or other apparatus for the purpose of abstracting additional quantities of such water.

Lord LLEWELLIN moved to add to subsection (4): Provided that no statutory water undertakers shall be required to obtain a licence for the abstraction as aforesaid of additional quantities of water so long as such quantities do not exceed those which they are authorised to abstract under any enactment. The noble Lord said: This is not as important a point as that which we have just been discussing. This Amendment is intended to make certain that where, under their Statute, statutory water undertakers are granted the right to take so many hundreds of thousands of gallons of water, but they install machinery to take only, say, a quarter or a half of that quantity, and subsequently wish to add to it, they will not have to follow the unnecessary procedure of returning to the Ministry to get authority to do what Parliament, or the Ministry itself by Order in Council, has already granted power to do. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 4, line 44, at end insert the said words.—(Lord Llewellin.)

The Earl of LISTOWEL

I entirely agree with the purpose of the Amendment. I do not think anyone will wish a water undertaker to go back to the Ministry for a licence to do work for which he has already a specific authority. However, the Amendment carries us a good deal further than that. I should like to reassure the noble Lord by saying that I am quite ready to table an Amendment on the next stage that will make it clear this this subsection 1s not intended to oblige the water undertakers to apply for a fresh licence in such circumstances.

Lord LLEWELLIN

I am much obliged to the noble Earl. I certainly do not wish to press the wording of this Amendment. I drafted it myself so I alone am responsible for it, and if it goes much wider than I had intended I am perfectly prepared for an alteration. But I am obliged to the noble Earl for saying that he will meet the point I had in mind, and on that undertaking I beg leave to withdraw my Amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clause 5 agreed to.

Clause 6 [Power to survey and search for water on land proposed to be purchased]:

The Earl of LISTOWEL

This is another drafting Amendment.

Amendment moved— Page 5, line 35, leave out from ("Minister") to end of line 36.—(The Earl of Listowel.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 6, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 7 [Amendment of definition of "communication pipe," etc.]:

The Earl of LISTOWEL

This is another drafting Amendment.

Amendment moved— Page 6, line 44, at end insert ("in the manner provided by section ninety-one of the said Third Schedule").—(The Earl of Listowel.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 7, as amended, agreed to.

Clauses 8 to 10 agreed to.

Clause 11 [Interpretation, citation, construction and extent]:

The Earl of LISTOWEL

These alterations of definition clauses are all drafting. I beg to move.

Amendment moved—

Page 8, line 8, leave out from the first ("the") to end of line 9, and insert ("following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:— 'principal Act' means the Water Act, 1945; 'statutory undertakers' means persons authorised by any enactment to carry on any railway, light railway, tramway, road transport, water transport, canal, inland navigation, dock, harbour, pier or lighthouse undertaking, or any undertaking for the supply of electricity, gas, hydraulic power, or water;

'appropriate Minister' means—

1. (a) in relation to statutory undertakers being statutory water undertakers, the Minister;
2. (b) in relation to statutory undertakers carrying on an undertaking for the supply of electricity, gas or hydraulic power, the Minister of Fuel and Power;
3. (c) in relation to any other statutory undertakers, the Minister of Transport.").—(The Earl of Listowel.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 11, as amended, agreed to.

House resumed.