§ Mr. William Hannanasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has now considered the recent representations made to him by the Institution of Water Engineers, Scottish Section, in respect to the future organisation of water supply services; if he took into account proposals for the reform of local government in this respect; what was the nature of his reply; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellA reply sent on my behalf to the Institution on 17th January explained that, in deciding that all regional authorities should have responsibility for water supply, I took into account the Report of the Scottish Water Advisory Committee (which is now being printed for publication), including the evidence which the Institution gave to the Committee expressing its preference for a unified water board for the whole of Scotland.
As stated in my reply on 22nd December, 1971, to the hon. Member for Greenock (Dr. J. Dickson Mabon), the Government consider that functions relating to water in Scotland should fall to the new regional authorities. To a large extent, the main river valleys in