§ Mr. Beithasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether any of the £5 million special grant he has made to the Northumbrian water authority is intended to defray water rates paid by customers supplied by the Newcastle and Gateshead water company.
§ Mr. Giles ShawNo. The repayable grant which has been offered, subject to parliamentary approval, is a temporary measure given specifically to the Northumbrian water authority to ease the impact on its charges of the decline in industrial water demand on Teeside at a time when the financing costs of major capital works including Kielder are high.