§ Mr. Granvilleasked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the present dry period is comparable to that in the year 1921 when water was being carted at Christmas; and what emergency steps he now proposes to prevent a repetition of the likely effects of a Yuletide drought in East Anglia.
§ Mr. BevanI am aware that the rainfall during the Summer months of this year was comparable in many areas to that of 1921, but conditions at Christmas will depend on the rainfall during the next two months. I am prepared to consider any proposals by local authorities for emergency supplies if these should prove necessary. I have, in fact, already approved this year 28 temporary schemes for utilising existing sources in East Anglia at a total cost in excess of a quarter of a million pounds.