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Water and Sewerage
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the real level of average household bills for water and sewerage in Great Britain as a whole and for each region of Great Britain in each year since 1978.[12831]
Angela Eagle: No figures are available for the average unmeasured household bill for water and sewerage in Great Britain as a whole. No fully valid comparison is possible between water services bills in England and Wales and in Scotland, where the administrative and funding arrangements for water services have been and are quite different.
I am advised by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland that in Scotland the real levels of average water and sewerage charges for the years 1989-90 to 1996-97 are as given in the following list. Information is not yet available for the current year, or for the period prior to 1989-90.
In England and Wales the real levels of average unmeasured household water and sewerage charges for the years 1978-79 to 1997-98 are as given in the following table.
28 Oct 1997 : Column: 803
Scotland: real levels of average water and sewerage charges to households (at 1997-98 prices)
1989-90: £90.21
1990-91: £89.68
1991-92: £100.40
1992-93: £106.14
1993-94: £106.21
1994-95: £109.57
1995-96: £112.91
1996-97: £120.75
| 1978-79 | 1979-80 | 1980-81 | 1981-82 | 1982-83 | 1983-84 | 1984-85 | 1985-86 | 1986-87 | 1987-88 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anglian | 145.92 | 146.40 | 160.94 | 166.30 | 163.52 | 163.46 | 166.85 | 179.33 | 187.22 | 192.24 |
| Dwr Cymru | 142.97 | 147.15 | 154.22 | 147.87 | 160.91 | 160.76 | 164.73 | 175.82 | 182.92 | 190.04 |
| Northumbrian | 113.77 | 105.23 | 111.49 | 111.30 | 114.84 | 121.67 | 137.14 | 139.48 | 135.32 | 137.37 |
| North West | 112.21 | 113.63 | 119.53 | 121.18 | 118.42 | 117.59 | 121.19 | 131.25 | 136.68 | 141.23 |
| Severn Trent | 116.52 | 121.45 | 125.13 | 125.76 | 123.52 | 120.32 | 120.54 | 128.87 | 134.05 | 138.77 |
| Southern | 136.78 | 131.32 | 144.56 | 148.40 | 147.18 | 147.69 | 148.88 | 158.12 | 163.84 | 169.10 |
| South West | 161.02 | 163.61 | 170.41 | 166.61 | 160.71 | 163.76 | 165.99 | 176.97 | 177.93 | 179.92 |
| Thames | 112.34 | 117.08 | 114.58 | 120.74 | 124.57 | 130.32 | 136.29 | 140.78 | 138.33 | 139.87 |
| Wessex | 153.21 | 171.55 | 167.14 | 161.40 | 155.27 | 151.84 | 151.98 | 161.34 | 171.82 | 177.39 |
| Yorkshire | 115.39 | 118.01 | 125.25 | 126.72 | 129.18 | 128.05 | 128.99 | 139.26 | 145.94 | 151.46 |
| England and Wales | 123.17 | 125.86 | 132.76 | 132.92 | 132.72 | 134.05 | 136.46 | 145.26 | 148.96 | 153.15 |
1. The table shows the average household bills, for those charged on an unmeasured basis only, of customers of the water and sewerage companies in England and Wales, and, before privatisation, of customers of the regional water authorities.
2. Charges before and after privatisation in 1989 are not strictly comparable. In particular regional water authorities charged for some services that were not transferred to the privatised water companies.
28 Oct 1997 : Column: 805
28 Oct 1997 : Column: 805
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list his Department's priorities for the United Kingdom presidency of the European Union. [12970]
Angela Eagle:
The forthcoming presidency of the European Union will provide an excellent opportunity for the UK to lead discussions on a wide range of important environmental and transport issues. Discussion of the many possibilities are currently taking place and I will write to my hon. Friend when final decisions on the departmental priorities have been decided.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps have been taken to ensure the continuation of the scheme operated by the British Railways Board for train drivers to visit schools to alert children to the dangers of trespassing on railway lines. [12884]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 15 July 1997, Official Report, column 131.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the value of the land owned by the British Railways Board. [12886]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The book value of the freehold properties held by the board at mid-October was £125 million.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what is the current acreage of land owned by the British Railways Board; [12885]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 15 July 1997, Official Report, columns 130-31.
Mr. McGrady:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what reviews his Department has undertaken of the transportation of radioactive waste by land, sea and air for reprocessing purposes to Sellafield. [12951]
28 Oct 1997 : Column: 806
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The safety regulations for the transport of radioactive material, including radioactive waste, are reviewed nationally and internationally on an ongoing basis to ensure that the good safety record of this transport is maintained.
The then Advisory Committee on the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials--ACTRAM--carried out an independent study of the safety of transport of low level waste, published in 1988 as "The Transport of Low Level Radioactive Waste in the UK, ISBN 0 11 752087", a copy of which is held in the Library.
In addition, the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee--RWMAC--has published a report, "The Import and Export of Radioactive Waste, ISBN 1 85112 0467 (September 1997)", a copy of which is in the Library. RWMAC recommends that special tests be applied to each application for the import or export of radioactive waste, to ensure it accords with Government policy.
The Department also commissions periodic studies of the radiological impact of the transport of radioactive material on a modal basis. The latest studies carried out by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) on the Department's behalf are: "Radiological Impact of the Normal Transport of Radioactive Materials by Sea", by R. Gelder, NRPB Memorandum NRPB-M749 (December 1996); "Radiation Exposure from the Normal Transport of Radioactive Materials within the UK 1991 Review", by R. Gelder, NRPB Report NRPB-R255, ISBN 0 85951 351 3 (May 1992); and "Radiological Impact of the Normal Transport of Radioactive Materials by Air", by R. Gelder, NRPB Memorandum NRPB-M219 (March 1990).
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the applications by some train operating companies to extend the duration of their franchise agreements. [12874]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
My right hon. Friend has recently received such an application from Great North Eastern Railway Limited. Applications will be considered on their merits. However, there would need to be very convincing arguments of public interest and value for money to justify renegotiation of contracts which were freely entered into following a competitive process.
(2) how much of its land the British Railways Board disposed of in each of the last three years by (a) acreage and (b) value. [12887]
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