§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the causes of the increase in those sewage works serving a population band of 1,000 to 5,000 and failing to meet the Welsh water authority quality standards in 1988–89; and what action his Department has taken to reverse this trend.
§ Mr. GristThe prospectus for the water share offers attributed the difficulties experienced in recent years mainly to undercapacity, inadequate maintenance, outmoded equipment or breakdowns. A new regulatory body, the National Rivers Authority, has now been established and an investment programme, totalling £395 million in the next five years alone, to improve the quality of Dwr Cymru's sewerage services, including its sewage treatment works, has been approved.