§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will supply in the Official Report details of the campaigns in (a) Scotland and (b) Glasgow to eradicate lead domestic water pipes; what was the cost of the work to change these pipes; and how many households were affected;
(2) how many households in (a) Scotland and (b) Glasgow have had their domestic water supply pipes changed from lead to copper.
§ Mr. AncramAdvice on lead in water was sent by the Scottish Health Education Group to every household in Scotland during the period November 1982 to February 1983.
In the period 1982–85 some 63,000 households in Scotland, of which 17,379 were in Glasgow, have had lead domestic water supply pipes replaced at an estimated cost of £25 million. No information is held centrally of the material used to replace lead pipes.
§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the results of the £25 million spent for replacing lead pipes in domestic water supplies in Scotland and the effect of the changes on lead content in water.
§ Mr. AncramThe estimated expenditure of about £25 million over the period 1982 to 1985 has resulted in lead plumbing being replaced in about 63,000 houses in the public and private sectors in Scotland. It is expected that, as a result, the level of lead in drinking water in the houses concerned will be reduced to a level not exceeding the current stand of 0.1 mg/1 laid down in the EC directive on the quality of water for human consumption.