§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will call for a report from the chairman of the Thames water authority listing all land currently held, and all land that has been bought and sold since 1979 and who the vendors and buyers were and at what price.
§ Mr. Moynihan[holding answer 10 January 1989]: Information on the land holdings of all the regional water 735W authorities is being gathered as part of the preparations for flotation. Figures for receipts from sale of fixed assets are given in the published annual accounts of water authorities. I have no plans to seek additional information in respect of past transactions.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the water rates for the Thames water authority for each year since 1979; and what was the rate of return on capital.
§ Mr. Moynihan[holding answer 10 January 1989]: The information requested is presented in the following tables. The rate of return on capital represents the current cost operating profit as a percentage of the mean current cost net asset values for that year. The figures for the rate of return on capital for 1979–80 and 1980–81 are not available on this basis.
Thames Water Authority average water rate £ 1979–80 38.62 1980–81 47.82 1981–82 54.47 1982–83 60.77 1983–84 66.74 1984–85 73.41 1985–86 80.75 1986–87 83.09 1987–88 87.74 1988–89 92.83 Source: Department of the Environment charges returns
Source: Water authority accounts
Thames Water Authority rate of return on capital Per cent. 1979–80 n/a 1980–81 n/a 1981–82 0.57 1982–83 0.88 1983–84 0.90 1984–85 1.13 1985–86 1.68 1986–87 1.80 1987–88 1.80 1988–89 11.85 1 Target rate of return