HL Deb 05 July 1984 vol 454 cc402-3

3.17 p.m.

The Duke of Atholl

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they propose to bring the provisions of the Reservoirs Act 1975 into force, and whether it will apply to all reservoirs of over 25,000 cubic metres in capacity.

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, we are consulting the local authority associations about the implementation of the Reservoirs Act 1975. The present intention is that the provisions of the Act relating to the keeping of information by undertakers, the establishment of registers of reservoirs by enforcement authorities and emergency procedures will be implemented on 1st October 1984; and the remaining provisions mainly relating to regular engineering supervision of reservoir operations on 1st October 1985.

Implementation in Greater London and metropolitan county areas depends on the future structure of local government in those areas. The Act applies to all reservoirs holding or capable of holding more than 25.000 cubic metres in capacity.

The Duke of Atholl

My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for that Answer. May I ask him whether, before bringing into effect the second section of that part of the Act that he was going to bring into force on 1st October 1985, if all goes well, he would consult with some or all of the many conservation bodies that exist in this country; and also whether it would be possible to exclude large raised reservoirs in remote areas where, even if the dams burst, they would do little harm and where they are useful both for fire fighting and as a wetlands habitat for many species of birds, butterflies and dragonflies which are becoming very rare in this country?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend. No. I have not in fact thought of consulting the conservation bodies in this respect, but I note the points that my noble friend has made and will study them with care.