§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about the effect of privatisation of water authorities on drinking water.
§ Mr. John PattenThe Government's proposals for privatising the water authorities in England and Wales were set out in the White Paper (Cmnd. 9734) published in February. This dealt, amongst other things, with the quality of drinking water. My Department has to date received 337 representations on the White Paper, which include comments on this aspect as on others.