§ Mr. HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether water authorities are now able to start making preparations for the establishment of the National Rivers Authority.
§ Mr. RidleyFollowing the granting of Royal Assent to the Public Utility Transfers and Water Charges Act, my noble Friend the Minister for Environment, Countryside and Water has today invited the English water authorities to prepare schemes of organisation in accordance with guidelines he has sent to them. My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, has issued a similar invitation to the chairman of Welsh Water. Copies of the guidelines have been laid in the Libraries of both Houses.