§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsbergasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made in considering the report of the sub-committee on water charges; and if he will now make a statement as to whether consideration has been given to a method by which users would be charged a price which relates directly to the quantities of water consumed.
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsThe Central Advisory Water Committee's Sub Committee on Water Charges, reporting in 1963, found no general system of charging for domestic supplies which would be better, on balance, than the water rate. It considered that the cost of metering household supplies would be out of scale with the cost of the water supplied. The Government have nothing against metering in principle; the question is one of the right time and circumstances for making a change.