§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what conditions he expects to impose on any private company in respect of the ownership, maintenance and operation of the locks and weirs of the River Thames.
§ Mr. John PattenNavigation responsibilities, including duties relating to the ownership, maintenance and operation of locks and weirs in the Thames, are subject to the requirements of various local statutes. I intend that all existing obligations of Thames WA should be transferred to the successor PLC.
§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list the names of statutory bodies, organisations and persons he has consulted in respect of his plans to transfer the ownership of the River Thames to a private limited company;
(2) what consultations he has had with each London borough, respectively, concerning the future discharge of statutory duties on the tidal reaches of the River Thames currently exercised by the Thames water authority.
(3) what consultations he has had with the council of the London borough of Richmond on Thames concerning his plans to transfer the ownership and management of the River Thames to a private limited company;
(4) what consultations he has had or expects to have with the council of the Royal borough of Kingston on Thames concerning his plan to transfer the ownership of the River Thames to a private limited company;
(5) what consultations he has had or expects to have with the corporation of the city of London in respect of future discharge of statutory responsibilities in the tidal reaches of the river Thames, currently the responsibility of the Thames Water Authority;
(6) what consultations he has had or expects to have with the county councils of Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, respectively, concerning the future ownership, control and management of the river Thames;
(7) what consultations he has had or expects to have with the boroughs of Elmbridge, Runnymede, Windsor and Maidenhead, Reading, and Oxford, respectively, concerning his plans to transfer the ownership and management of the river Thames to a private limited company;
(8) what consultations he has had or expects to have with the district councils of Spelthorne, Wokingham, Beaconsfield, Wycombe, South Oxfordshire, Newbury West, Oxfordshire, the Vale of Whitehorse, and 366W Thamesdown, respectively, concerning transfer of the ownership and management of the river Thames to a private limited company.
§ Mr. John PattenThe possibility of transferring the water authorities to the private sector was presented in our discussion paper issued last year. The Government's proposals were subsequently set out in the White Paper "Privatisation of the Water Authorities in England and Wales" (Cmnd. 9734) issued in February 1986. We have received comments from a wide variety of organisations and individuals, but it is for the originators of these comments to decide if they wish to make their views public. We have not initiated, and do not plan, consultation specifically on the future of the Thames water authority.