§ 52. Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the present state of British rivers, following the annual reports of the regional water authorities on the state of rivers in their areas.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe National Water Council will, within the next fortnight, be publishing the results of the national survey of river water quality carried out in 1980. This will give a full picture of the position, which I understand is generally encouraging. The water authorities' annual reports for 1980 contain some comments on river quality which seem to show that, on balance, standards are being maintained—with real improvements on some major rivers—despite necessarily tighter constraints on capital expenditure in the current financial climate.