§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of the increasing pollution of beaches by raw sewage around the coasts, he will consider what additional assistance can be given to regional water authorities unable to finance schemes to deal with these problems.
§ Mr. Denis HowellThe Government have made it clear that the water industry 51W must be self-financing. Water authorities are subject to the present constraints on public expenditure and I have no reason to think that they should be asked to give higher priority to coastal schemes within their capital allocations.