§ 42. Sir Peter BlakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to which European Community member states had more rivers in good or fair condition than the United Kingdom at the latest date for which figures are available.
§ Mr. HowardThe 1985 river quality surveys indicated that about 95 per cent. of river lengths in the United Kingdom were classified as being of good or fair quality. Comprehensive information on a comparable basis for other EC member states is not available. However, a study published in 1988 by the Water Research Centre, in reviewing classification schemes in member states, showed that on the basis of comparisons made using the United Kingdom river classification scheme, no other member state had a greater proportion of "good" or "fair" quality rivers, although our position was matched by that of the Netherlands. A summary of these results is published in the Water Authorities' Association publication "Water Facts 1988".