§ 35. Mr. Kimballasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in view of the fact that under Section 15 of the Water Act 1973 water authority maintenance staff visit rural sewerage works for regular maintenance and district council staff visit the same villages for maintenance of the pumping stations, and in view of the fact that this section of the Act ensures that two separate work forces with the same expertise on the same functions follow each other round in rural areas with the same frequency of visits, he will take immediate steps to remedy the situation.
§ Mr. Denis HowellThe arrangements for local authorities to discharge the sewerage function on behalf of the water authorities are not as inflexible as the hon. Member suggests. Those arrangements will, however, be reviewed as part of the general review of the industry to take place in the New Year.
§ Mr. Kimballasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the savings in labour, transport, supervision and administration in the Anglian Water Authority area if all local authorities terminated their agencies for the maintenance of sewage pumping stations and allowed this work to be done by the water authority, as in the case of the West Lindsey District Council.
§ Mr. Denis HowellThe information on which to base a reliable estimate is not available and could not be obtained at reasonable cost. There are 57 agency arrangements in the Anglia RWA for which estimates would have to be calculated separately.