§ Mr. Hutchinsonasked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the difficulty experienced by local authorities in the area served by the Metropolitan Water Board in determining what action they should take under Section III of the Public Health Act, 1936, to ensure the purity of the water supplied to their districts, in view of the inadequate analytical information on water examination published in the official minutes of the Board, and of the fact that further information has not hitherto been made available; and whether he will take any action to ensure that the necessary information shall in future be forthcoming, and the duties of local authorities in this matter adequately defined?
§ Mr. ElliotI am aware that some question has been raised as to the scope of the analytical information supplied by the board to local authorities, and as to the action which the local authorities should take under Section 111 of the Act of 1936. It is for the local authorities themselves to decided what action, if any, it is necessary for them to take under the section. The board publish periodically summaries of the results of their regular examination of the water passing into their mains from their various sources and these summaries indicate the quality of the water supplied to the consumers. I understand that the board regard it as impracticable to furnish further details to the individual local authorities, and as no question arises as to the purity of the board's supplies it does not appear that any action on my part is required