§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has indemnified against claims for damage to health (a) water authorities which add fluoride to the domestic water supply and (b) water authorities in whose area fluoride in the domestic water supply occurs naturally at a concentration of, or in excess of, one part per million.
§ Sir George YoungSince 1962 successive Secretaries of State have offered to indemnify water authorities following the publication of the successful conclusion of the first five years of the fluoridation studies in the United830W Kingdom (Reports on Public Health and Medical Subjects No. 105, HMSO). The current indemnity to water authorities was revised in 1978 and was prepared in consultation with the water industry. A copy is available in the Library of the House.
The indemnity is linked to an agreement between the health authority and the water authority to fluoridate the water supplies. Since no such agreement is in force in areas in which fluoride occurs naturally in the water supply at a concentration of, or in excess of, one part per million, no indemnity applies.