§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will identify the various European Union Water Directives; how much the United Kingdom has so far spent on implementing these directives; and how much they estimate remains to be spent on their implementation. [HL5267]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)The existing EU directives with a major impact on water are set out in Annexes A and B of the Defra publicationDirecting the flow: Priorities for future water policy (November 2002). Ascertaining the full implementation costs of all the water directives, some of which date back to the 1970s, would be highly complex and disproportionately expensive. However, recent regulatory impact assessments have been published in respect of: the Water Framework Directive (see Appendix D of the third consultation paper on the implementation of the EC Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)); the Nitrates Directive (see final RIA published June 2002), the European Commission proposals to revise the 1976 Bathing Water Directive (see Explanatory Memorandum 13789/02), and the proposed new designations under the Freshwater Fish Directive (78/ 659/EEC) (see appendix 4 of the consultation document issued by Defra/WAG in June 2003). Estimates of costs arising from the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive are contained in Sewage Treatment in the UK: UK Implementation of the EC Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.
Copies of these documents are available from the Library of the House.
§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the average United Kingdom household's annual water bill, adjusted for inflation:
- (a) before the implementation of the European Union Water Directives; and
- (b) today;
and what is their estimate of the average bill in five years' time. [HL5268]
171WA
§ Lord WhittyThe existing EU directives with a major impact on water are set out in Annexes A and B of the Defra publicationDirecting the Flow: Priorities for Water Policy. Ascertaining the full implementation costs of all these directives, many of which date back to the 1970s, would be highly complex and disproportionately expensive.
However, the annual average household water and sewerage bill in 2003–04 in England and Wales is £236, an increase of 21.4 per cent (in real terms) since 1989.
The Director of the Office of Water Services sets water and sewerage companies' price limits. He will publish his draft determinations in July 2004 for the next five years, for consultation. He will publish his final decisions in November 2004.
§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will request the appropriate European Commissioner to take action against the discharge of raw sewage from Brussels into the River Meuse. [HL5269]
§ Lord WhittyThe European Commission referred Belgium to the European Court of Justice in 2001 in relation to its obligation under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive to collect and treat urban waste water in Brussels.