Water Abstraction (Hansard, 31 March 1999)

§ Mr. Meacher

Together with the Welsh Office, my Department will today publish a document entitled "Taking Water Responsibly: Government decisions following consultation on changes to the water abstraction licensing system in England and Wales". Copies are available in the Library of the House. Those decisions reflect the Government's intention that the abstraction authorisation system should contribute to sustainable development by protecting and, where possible, enhancing the aquatic environment whilst facilitating economic growth and higher living standards with minimum impact on water customers' bills. These decisions relate to changes whichprovide the Environment Agency with additional tools for the conduct of its duty to manage water resources, whilst encouraging a voluntary approach to necessary changes by abstractors; increase the scope and public availability of information on water resources, enabling abstractors to review their present operations and plan ahead in an environmentally responsible manner; increase the system's flexibility, accountability and administrative efficiency, thereby increasing the ease of access to sustainable water resources for existing and new entrants to the sectors for which water abstraction is vital; and incorporate appropriate transitional arrangements, both for existing abstractors and for those who will be subject to controls for the first time.

The package of changes will also provide improved scope for the application of economic instruments in relation to water abstraction which might emerge from research work currently in progress and the further consultation thereafter to which the Government are already committed.

Many of the changes will be made within the existing legal framework, but the Government will bring forward the legislation necessary for other changes as soon as Parliamentary time allows.