§ Mr. Loydenasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what approaches have been made to his Department or to the European Economic Community for financial assistance to clean up the River Mersey as part of an environmental improvement; at what total cost; and what has been the response.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinA number of local authorities in the Mersey basin, as well as the water authority itself, have suggested to the Government that the North-West Water Authority should receive special financial assistance from the Government to clean up the River Mersey. The authority estimates it could cost more than £2,000 million for the whole Mersey system over a period of 25 years. As I announced in the north-west on 16 March, we will continue to give the authority a high priority when allocating external finance. While in general, those who benefit from water quality improvements should bear the costs, it is the Government's intention to ease these costs by securing maximum grant aid from the European Community's Regional Development Fund, which is already contributing to Mersey improvement projects. With support from the water authority and local authorities, we will be sending the first phase of a combined programme of water quality and landward improvement projects to the Community early in the New Year.