§ Mr. O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the areas in England and Wales which have water use restrictions applying in the current year.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryThe table lists the areas of England which have been affected this year by drought orders made by my right hon. Friend under section 131 of the Water Act 1989 to enable water companies to restrict the use of water:
account, but we do not see any need for them to increase the effort they themselves devote to monitoring public supplies.
In the case of private supplies, my right hon. Friend has it in mind to use the power in section 56(5) of the Water Act 1989 to make regulations covering the performance of local authority functions, particularly in relation to sampling and analysis and the associated charging arrangements. An advisory group, which includes representatives of the local authority associations, was established earlier this year to consider the content of the regulations. When we receive its conclusions, a consultation document will be issued.