HC Deb 07 November 1991 vol 198 c185W
Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many drought orders his Department has granted in each year since 1979; and how many of these involved varying the conditions of abstraction.

Mr. Baldry

The Secretary of State for the Environment has made the following numbers of drought orders:

Numbers
1980 2
1981 nil
1982 13
1983 5
1984 92
1985 nil
1986 nil
1987 nil
1988 1
1989 74
1990 65
11991 24
1 To date.

Most of these involve a temporary variation in the conditions governing the abstraction of water, but only a detailed review of all 276 statutory instruments could give a precise figure: this would involve disproportionate effort.

Forward to