§ Mr. Nicholas Winterton asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the extent of sewer collapse in the north-west region in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how this figure compares with the average for the other regions in each of those years;
§ (2) what percentage of total United Kingdom sewer collapse occurred in the north-west region in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. John PattenThe North West water authority reported 690, 690 and 600 significant collapses respectively in 1981–82, 1982–83 and 1983–84. Reporting standards have improved but they vary between water authorities and this makes comparisons unreliable. Ignoring those variations, the north west has about 14 per cent. of the collapses in England and Wales. The rate of collapses per kilometre is about the same as for England and Wales as a whole.