§ Mr. GaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy to ensure that the new Scottish water authorities will have adequate funding to meet the capital expenditure requirements together with the operational expenses required of them and to prevent a negative cash flow arising from capped income. [7225]
§ Mr. KynochMy right hon. Friend has announced external financing limits for 1996–97 which should he sufficient to enable the water authorities to meet capital expenditure requirements and operating expenses with overall average charge increases of not more than 6 per cent. It is for each authority to prepare and submit a charges scheme to the customers council. External financing limits for future years will be considered in the context of successive public expenditure rounds.