§ Mr. Michael BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 21 January,Official Report, column 557, with respect to water privatisation, what factors make such a privatisation impracticable in the near future. [12947]
Criminal injuries Claims received Claims cleared in year resulting in award Average value of claims cleared £ Total compensation paid £ 1989–90 8,973 4,895 3,141 16,449,745 1990–91 9,382 5,889 3,417 19,547,358 1991–92 10,924 6,357 3,830 25,019,951 1992–93 9,689 6,673 4,217 26,569,813 1993–94 9,444 6,154 4,918 29,601,804 1994–95 8,970 6,493 5,673 34,634,993 1995–96 9,563 5,930 5,987 36,345,097 310W
Criminal damage Number of claims received Claims cleared in year resulting in award Average value of claims cleared Total compensation paid £ £ 1989–90 4,993 3,228 6,933 22,124,107 1990–91 3,243 3,255 5,929 22,711,159 1991–92 5,942 2,284 9,384 33,096,467 1992–93 5,530 3,554 9,171 75,927,801 1993–94 5,863 3,841 11,990 67,870,586 1994–95 2,264 3,971 20,505 53,811,825 1995–96 1,891 1,579 36,925 32,102,156 Many claims involve interim payments made over more than one year and this is reflected in the total amounts of compensation paid each year.
§ Mr. MossPrivatisation of water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland will require legislation and is dependent upon the collation of complex data which will enable any sale to proceed. It also requires the creation of a suitable system of regulations along with the introduction of a system of direct charging to replace the current arrangements whereby the majority of the costs of water and sewage services are recovered through the regional rate. All of this will take several years to put in place.