§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much has been spent on (a) construction and 131W (b) repair and maintenance of sewers by each region in each year since 1970.
§ Mr. FoxThis information is not available for the years prior to the formation of the water authorities in 1974-
(a) EXPENDITURE ON SEWERAGE CONSTRUCTION (£ million) Region 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 North-West … … … … … 28.7 22.7 19.0 Northumbrian … … … … … 23.1 17.8 14.3 Severn-Trent … … … … … 27.7 28.8 33.1 Yorkshire … … … … … 8.3 8.3 14.3 Anglian … … … … … 28.2 22.2 22.9 Thames … … … … … 33.6 27.1 24.4 Southern … … … … … 11.9 8.7 9.4 Wessex … … … … … 8.9 6.5 9.1 South-West … … … … … 3.2 1.5 2.3 Welsh … … … … … 7.6 6.8 12.8
(b) EXPENDITURE ON REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE OF SEWERS (£ million) Region 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 North-West … … … 2.3 3.1 3.3 3.6 4.2 Northumbrian … … … 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.6 Severn-Trent … … … 2.2 2.7 3.2 3.7 4.1 Yorkshire … … … 1.2 1.9 2.1 2.5 3.2 Anglian … … … 1.1 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.7 Thames … … … 9.9 9.0 9.7 9.7 11.4 Southern … … … 2.0 2.7 3.5 3.8 4.2 Wessex … … … 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.5 South-West … … … 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 Welsh … … … 1.7 1.7 2.6 2.6 3.1 All prices are those current in the year of expenditure.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much each region will need to spend on repair and maintenance of its sewers in 1980–81, and for the next two years.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of the sewerage system has been inspected in the last 10 years; and if he will instruct water authorities to carry out a full inspection of their sewers in order to ascertain their state of repair.
§ Mr. FoxNo information is available on the extent of sewer inspections before formation of the water authorities in 1974 but all authorities have in hand surveys that will enable them to assess the condition of their inherited assets. However, the extent of the work involved is such that it may be many years before it is complete.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give extra resources to those water 132W 75, and their published accounts after that did not separate capital investment on sewerage and sewage disposal until 1976–77. The available figures are as follows:
authorities which face special difficulties over the repair and maintenance of their sewerage systems.
§ Mr. FoxCapital investment by the water authorities at present is constrained by the limited national resources available. However, I am not aware that any individual authority is having special difficulties in the short term as a result of these constraints. If such difficulties do arise they will, of course, be considered in the light of the evidence submitted.