Water (Hansard, 26 January 1989)

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether all water supplied by water authorities and water companies complies with annex I of European Community Council directive 80/778/EEC; what steps his Department has taken to ensure that it does so comply; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Moynihan
Most water supplied by water authorities and water companies complies with the standards set in annex 1 of EC directive 80/778. The Department requires water undertakers to prepare action programmes for its approval where a supply does not comply and where a derogation under the terms of the directive is not available. Over the last few years a substantial number of supplies have been improved under these programmes and good progress continues to be made towards full compliance with the directive.

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, when new valuation work of water authority land and buildings is undertaken in connection with the preparation of prospectuses, he will make it his policy to ensure that such valuation takes account of the possibility of planning permission for development being granted; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Chope
The valuation work will be carried out against the background of guidance notes issued by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors on the valuation of assets, which provide that valuers should take account of the prospects for planning permission in relevant circumstances.

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pursuant to his answer of 14 December,Official Report, column 626, he will make it his policy to publish for each water authority figures of net asset value based on the net current replacement costs figures shown in their published accounts; whether the amounts of net current replacement cost for each water authority have been calculated on a consistent accounting basis with each other; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Moynihan
I have no plans to publish additional information on the value of assets in the ownership of water authorities to that which is given in the published annual accounts. Water authorities' accounts are drawn up in accordance with standard guidelines for the industry which it is the responsibility of each authority to apply, subject to the scrutiny of its external auditors.

§ Mr. Matthew Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he plans to bring forward further proposals to guarantee effective competition within each water authority area; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Moynihan
The water merger proposals announced by my right hon. Friend on 11 January at column 841 are designed to ensure that the Director General of Water Services can make performance comparison between independently owned water and sewerage undertakers throughout England and Wales.