§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, given that water under London is now once again rising, they will withdraw from the water authorities the permissions previously given to them to extract water from rivers in Wiltshire, Berkshire and Hampshire, which because of excessive withdrawals of water are now frequently dry.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Hesketh)Permissions for abstractions is a matter for the National Rivers Authority under Section 128 of the Water Act 1989.