§ Mr. Keyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the debt outstanding owed to each water authority in England and Wales for 1979 to 1983, inclusive.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe following table shows the amount of current liabilities identified as "debtors" in the water authorities' accounts for the financial years 1979–80 to 1982–83 inclusive.
1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 Water Authority £m £m £m £m North West 30.2 38.5 41.8 50.1 Northumbrian 10.8 17.1 18.7 19.5 Severn-Trent 30.6 32.0 36.3 38.7 Yorkshire 24.0 21.0 27.3 32.8 Anglian 24.0 23.1 25.9 36.1 Thames 31.4 33.8 47.6 50.9 Southern 15.0 15.3 18.1 18.3 Wessex 9.6 9.9 10.3 14.1 South West 8.1 7.8 8.8 10.0 Welsh 18.9 18.3 22.7 26.5 Total 202.6 216.8 257.5 297.0 Source: Water Authority Annual Accounts and Reports 1979–80 to 1982–83.
§ Mr. Keyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how much money was reclaimed by each water authority in England and Wales as a result of court action for 1979 to 1983, inclusive;
(2) what was the cost to each water authority in England and Wales of court actions for non-payment for water services charges for 1979 to 1983, inclusive;
(3) how many cases arising from non-payment for water services charges were tried in each county court in England and Wales for the years 1979 to 1983, inclusive.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI regret that this information is not held centrally and could be obtained from the various water authorities only at disproportionate cost.