§ Sir W. Robson Brownasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied that the Thames Conservancy has carried out its statutory obligations under the Water Resources Act, 1963 and earlier legislation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John MackieI have no reason to believe that the Thames Conservancy has failed to fulfil its statutory obligations.
§ Sir W. Robson Brownasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what money has been contributed from local authority funds towards the maintenance of the Thames and its tributaries; and what percentage this figure represents of the money which the Thames Conservancy received from the local authorities during each of the last five years.
§ Mr. HoyThe information is as follows:
115W
A. B. Total Precepts levied on Constituent Councils Expenditure on river maintenance B expressed as a percentage of A £ £ Per cent. 1964 … 728,000 490,693 67 1965 … 900,000 540,843 60 1966 … 1,135,000 546,345 48 1967 … 1,135,000 593,833 52 1968 … 1,131,000 608,382 54
§ Sir W. Robson Brownasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what moneys have been spent by the Thames Conservancy during the last 10 years on modern dredging equipment for the main river and modern dredging equipment suitable for tributary streams.
§ Mr. HoyDuring the past 10 years Thames Conservancy has spent £53,493 on dredging equipment for the River Thames and £176,324 for tributaries of the Thames; during the same period 50 additional excavators have been hired for specific jobs to avoid disrupting the main dredging programme.