§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many applications for licences for the abstraction of water from boreholes and rivers 68WA respectively have been rejected since 1 April 1996, and how many existing licences have been withdrawn or modified during the same period.
Earl FerrersThe Environment Agency has provided the following information covering the period since 1 April 1996 in respect of England and Wales:
Surface water Groundwater Abstraction licence applications rejected: 24 12 Abstraction licences withdrawn: (includes expired, revoked and voluntarily withdrawn licences) 458 363 Abstraction licences modified: (includes licences where succession rights were exercised) 609 694 The number of rejections is small because applicants are advised of likely rejection prior to formal application. Applicants may then decide not to proceed to avoid incurring advertising and application expenses.