HL Deb 30 March 1983 vol 440 cc1634-5WA
Baroness Trumpington

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are their intentions for representing the interests of consumers in the areas of the water authorities under Clause 7 of the Water Bill.

Lord Skelmersdale

Clause 7 of the Water Bill imposes on the water authorities a duty to prepare a report on the arrangements they propose to make to represent the interests of consumers in their area. This report has to be submitted to the Secretary of State for his approval. In preparing their reports the water authorities would be obliged by Clause 7 to have regard to any guidelines issued by the Secretary of State. A draft of the guidelines which it is proposed should be issued was circulated on 22nd November 1982, and copies are available in the Printed Paper Office. Comments on the draft were requested by 31st March 1983.

The draft proposes the establishment of Consumer Consultative Committees at the divisional level, with a wide remit to consider any matter affecting the interests of the water authorities' and water companies' consumers.

In the light of comments received, and a number of commitments which have already been made, it is proposed to revise the draft guidelines and to reissue them for a further short consultation period. While it will not be possible to publish the revised draft before the House completes the remaining stages of the Bill, copies will be made available to the House on publication. The main changes already decided upon are as follows:

  1. (a) The meetings of the Consumer Consultative Committees should be open to the press and public;
  2. (b) The chairmanship of the committees should be a matter for the committees themselves to decide;
  3. (c) Where the CCC does not appoint a member of the water authority as its chairman, arrangements will be needed for the water authority to be formally represented at the committee's meetings;
  4. (d) The water authorities should appoint to the committees the nominees of the local authorities and other nominating bodies unless there are very strong reasons for not doing so; and, if in these circumstances agreement cannot be reached between the two parties, the matter should be submitted to the Secretary of State for determination;
  5. (e) There should be separate arrangements under Clause 7 to appoint a committee at the regional level to bring together representatives of the water authority and the sporting, recreational, amenity and conservation interests in the area.

The legislative framework would ensure that there must be arrangements, and that these arrangements must conform with guidelines. The Government have considered carefully the possibility of writing provisions for the new committees into the Bill but have concluded that this would not be appropriate. The arrangements proposed in the Bill have the major advantage of flexibility; if views change about the most appropriate method of representing consumer interests then it would be advantageous to be able to implement changes quickly. In addition, a modified version of the proposals may be appropriate in particular areas; for instance, in the Wessex Water Authority area a system of consumer committees has been in existence for some time and it should be possible, under the Bill, to reflect such arrangements if they are widely supported.