§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of laboratories operated by each of the water authorities and the total expenditure by each of the water authorities on laboratories since their inception.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe number of laboratories operated by each of the water authorities is as follows:
Anglian 42 Northumbrian 11 North 41 Western Severn/Trent 38 Southern 16 South West 2 Thames 57 Welsh 14 Wessex 10 Yorkshire 14 Information on expenditure by each of the water authorities since inception is not readily available. Apart from the considerable reduction in numbers of laboratories in water authorities since inception, the laboratory costs have been linked with regional, functional division or operational division costs and are not generally separable. As a general guide, present operational costs are of the order of 1–1.5 per cent. of revenue expenditure.