§ Ms. RichardsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment who will be responsible for the financing of compulsory installation of water meters; and what costs will be borne by(a) landlords, (b) tenants, (c) owner-occupiers and (d) water public limited companies.
§ Mr. MoynihanParagraph 5 of schedule 1 of the Public Utility Transfers and Water Charges Bill requires water undertakers to meet the cost of compulsory installation of meters in existing properties, but the Government have agreed in principle to contribute up to 50 per cent. of the cost of the limited number of compulsory metering trials now being planned by the water industry.
§ Ms. RichardsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps will be taken to regulate the resale of metered water by landlords to tenants; how the safeguards will be imposed; and by whom.
§ Mr. MoynihanIf controls are found to be necessary, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry already has power to make regulations under section 26 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 to control the resale of water, however it is charged for, on lines similar to those already proposed for the resale of gas and electricity. Enforcement would be by trading standards officers.