§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from the farming sector about the proposal in the Water Bill for time-limited licences. [133477]
§ Mr. MorleyIn 1998 the Government first consulted on proposals for all new licences to be issued with a time limit in the consultation paper 'The Review of the Water Abstraction Licensing System in England and Wales'. The majority of responses from the farming sector accepted that there was a need to time limit new abstraction licences. The majority of all the consultation responses received welcomed this proposal, and the Government subsequently included the proposal in the draft Water Bill.
There was similar feedback on our "Water Bill—Consultation on draft legislation" which was published in November 2000.