§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the savings that have been made, or are to be made, as a result of the examination of the accounts of the water authorities by independent accountants; and how much this examination cost his Department.
§ Mr. KingI refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Reading, North (Mr. Durant) on 2 March.—[Vol. 1000, c. 52–53.] Bills have not yet been received from all the consultants employed.
§ Mr. Les Huckfieldasked the Secretary' of State for the Environment (1) whether he will make a statement describing recent changes in accounting practices which have been given by regional water authorities as the reason for reducing proposed water rate increases, for example in the area of the Severn Trent regional water authority;
(2) whether, following his action in this sphere, he will take further steps designed to modify the accounts and services of regional water authorities with a view to further reductions in rates.
§ Mr. KingThere have been no changes in the general rules for introducing current cost accounting, and while there has been some variation in the targets for three authorities, the overall percentage return remains the same.
We have no proposals for further modifications at present.