§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they consider that the European Commission has issued adequate cost-benefit analyses for each of its water directives, in accordance with Article 130r of the Treaty on European Union.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Baroness Hayman)The Government attach great importance to assessments of the potential benefits and costs of action or lack of action as regards all Community environmental legislation. The Commission is committed to the principle that all proposals for legislation should be accompanied by economic analyses and the Government expect these to be of an adequate standard to allow proper consideration of the proposal by member states consistent with Article 130r. The Government have some concern that this is not always the case, for example, in respect of the proposal for a water framework directive.