§ Mr. KnowlesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what responsibility his Department has for bottled drinking waters.
§ Mr. TrippierResponsibility for regulating the quality of the two main categories of bottled waters—natural mineral water and artificially carbonated mineral or spring water—lies with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Responsibility for any other bottled water has hitherto fallen to the Secretary of State for the Environment, because my right hon. Friend has overall responsibility for EC directive 80/778 on the quality of water intended for human consumption.
The existence of separate legal and administrative regimes for different types of bottled water has inevitably caused confusion to producers, local authorities and the 205W public. The current Food Safety Bill will make it possible to establish a single regime under the Food Acts and the food hygiene regulations for all types of bottled water. The Prime Minister has therefore agreed that the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in conjunction with the Agriculture Ministers in Wales and Scotland, and the Minister for Health and Social Services in Northern Ireland, should in future have ministerial responsibility for all types of bottled water.