§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the efficiency of the Northumbrian water authority; and what steps he has taken to secure an increase in the level of productivity and to secure other cost savings.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI am encouraged by the progress which the Northumbrian water authority has made towards achieving greater efficiency and I expect this to continue.
The consultants who reviewed the Northumbrian budgets for 1981–82 and 1982–83 reported favourably on its efficiency. The performance aims agreed with the authority for 1983–84 resulted in a 4 per cent. reduction in real operating costs compared with 1979–80. As I announced in a written reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hertfordshire, West (Mr. Jones) on 17 January, at column 199, we have now agreed a new performance aim with the chairman which will reduce real operating costs by a further 5 per cent. The authority's manpower has decreased by 20 per cent. since March 1979.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what financial targets he has set for the Northumbrian water authority; on what basis he requires it to account for the depreciation of assets; and how these compare with the targets and requirements set for other English water authorities;
(2) if he will publish a table showing the Northumbrian water authority's forecast for the demand for water at the public inquiry over the Kielder water project and the actual demand from domestic and industrial users over the past five years;
(3) what financial assistance has been given to the Northumbrian water authority by the Government in each of the past 10 years;
95W(4) what has been the domestic rate charged by the Northumbrian water authority; and by what percentage it has increased in each of the past 10 years and for 1984–85.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI shall answer these questions shortly.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what limit he has set on the Northumbrian water authority's capital programme for the forthcoming year; and whether it includes provision for the Langbaurgh sea outfall.
§ Mr. WaldegraveAn external financing limit of £26 million for 1984–85 has been set for Northumbrian water authority. This is expected to support capital investment worth £35 million, on DOE services. I understand that the Langbaurgh sea outfall will form part of this capital programme.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in view of the level of water charges in the area, he will take steps to reduce the financial target and increase the external financing limit of the Northumbrian water authority.
§ Mr. WaldegraveNo.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the increase in Northumbrian water authority's expenditure in real and percentage terms, excluding debt charges, in each of the past five years.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe following table shows the percentages increases in Northumbrian water authority's revenue expenditure, excluding interest, for the years 1978–79 to 1982–83:
Financial year Per cent. increase Per cent. increase (deflated by RPI) 1978–79 36.3 26.3 1979–80 20.3 9.3 1980–81 23.7 1.6 1981–82 12.5 0.4 1982–83 6.5 (-2.6)
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what applications for loan sanctions have been made by the Northumbrian water authority in each of the past 10 years; and which of these the Government has approved.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe system of capital approvals has altered over the last ten years. But the loans actually issued to the Northumbrian water authority (excluding short-term bridging loans) were as follows:
Year Number of Loans Total Amounts (£ millions) 1974–75 6 35.7 1975–76 10 41.0 1976–77 8 38.3 1977–78 5 38.2 1978–79 5 33.9 1979–80 9 41.3 1980–81 19 58.0 1981–82 15 63.1 1982–83 15 81.5 1983–84* 4 30.0 * To 9 March 1984.