§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make a statement on the current situation in the North East river purification board and the situation regarding the cancelled appointment to the post of general manager;
(2) if he will make a statement regarding the current duties and structure of the North East river purification board; and if there have been any changes in these duties and the structure of the board.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonRiver purification boards have powers under statute to appoint such officers as they think necessary for the proper discharge of their functions. This is not a matter for which the Secretary of State is reponsible. Any queries about the staffing of a river purification board or the duties of its officers should be addressed to the board.
§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the rivers the North East river purification board is responsible for; and which are used as part of the Grampian water supply.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe boundary of the North East river purification board defines the catchments draining to the coast between Hopeman and Milton Ness. These cover the Rivers Lossie, Spey, Deveron, Ugie, Ythan, Dee, Don and Bervie, together with their tributaries and the coastal streams encompassed by the boundary. Except for the Rivers Ythan and Bervie, all these rivers, or tributaries of them, are used as sources of public water supply by Grampian regional council.