§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many disconnections there have been in the London borough of Lewisham in the past 12 months; how many of these disconnections are attributable to water metering; and what is Thames Water Utilities' programme for water metering in Lewisham.
§ Mr. AtkinsData on disconnections by local authority district and by charging method are not available centrally. The Director General of Water Services publishes data on disconnections twice a year, by water company area and by domestic and non-domestic customer. Data on disconnections in the six months to 30 September 1994 were published in an Ofwat news release on 15 November, a copy of which is in the Library. I understand that Thames Water Utilities has yet to decide on its preferred future method of charging domestic customers for water and sewerage services but has a policy of metering all commercial customers. Most water companies meter all new and substantially altered domestic properties.