§ Mrs. Ann TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy that information gathered regularly by various Government Departments78W on the sale and usage of pesticides in different localities should be passed on routinely and free of charge to local authorities to help them in the discharge of their duties to monitor drinking water quality.
§ Mr. MacleanThe Water Quality Regulations make the water undertaker responsible for regular monitoring of drinking water for traces of pesticides. In deciding which pesticides they should analyse for, water undertakers are expected to make use of all the data available, whether from Government Departments or other sources, about the usage and properties of particular pesticides. The drinking water inspectorate reviews each company's monitoring strategy annually to ensure it is doing so. Local authorities receive detailed annual reports on drinking water quality from the relevant water company, and it is not necessary therefore for local authorities to duplicate these procedures.