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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 12 January 2000
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Athletics
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment has been made of the suitability of the proposed ramped area for the use of athletes coming from the external road to the Olympic Track of the English National Stadium Project; and if he will make a statement. [104311]
Kate Hoey: Following his statement to the House on 1 December 1999, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made a further announcement about the future of Wembley on 22 December 1999 which confirmed that, subject to further discussions between Wembley National Stadium Ltd., the Football Association and Sport England, athletics will be removed from the new national stadium at Wembley and an alternative venue sought elsewhere in London. Copies of that announcement have been placed in the Library of the House.
ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS
Water Industry
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what has been the amount of capital expenditure by the water industry for improving the environment over the past five years; and what his estimate is of the anticipated expenditure on such schemes, by the industry, over the next five years. [103101]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 20 December 1999]: The Director General of Water Services has published the capital expenditure of the water industry on quality enhancement for the five years from 1 April 1994 to 31 March 1999 in "1998-1999 Report on financial performance and expenditure of the water companies in England and Wales". Gross capital investment by the water industry on quality enhancement in this period was £6,691 million (in May 1999 prices).
On 25 November 1999 the Director published "Final determinations: Future water and sewerage charges 2000-2005". This document sets out the provisions within price limits for expenditure to improve the environment in the five years beginning 1 April 2000. This includes provision for capital enhancement expenditure and capital maintenance expenditure of £8.5 billion to improve drinking water quality and reach higher environmental standards. £7.45 billion of this is capital enhancement
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expenditure. £1.03 billion is capital maintenance expenditure which will allow the companies to meet water quality and environmental obligations. The Director is writing to the hon. Member with fuller information on the figures he requests.
Mr. Bennett:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the leakage rates for each water company in England; and what steps are being taken to reduce these levels. [104291]
Mr. Meacher:
The Director General of Water Services published the leakage rates for the water undertakers in England in 1998-99 in the "1998-99 Report on leakage and water efficiency" in December. These rates, in megalitres per day and as a percentage of distribution input, were as follows:
| Megalitres per day | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Anglian | 201 | 18.1 |
| Bournemouth and West Hampshire | 25.7 | 16.7 |
| Bristol | 56.4 | 18.7 |
| Cambridge | 13.1 | 18.5 |
| Essex and Suffolk | 76.4 | 15.9 |
| Folkestone and Dover | 8.7 | 17.8 |
| Hartlepool | 4.7 | 13.9 |
| Mid Kent | 30.1 | 19.0 |
| North Surrey | 22.3 | 17.3 |
| North West | 510 | 25.8 |
| Northumbrian | 171 | 22.0 |
| Portsmouth | 30.5 | 17.6 |
| Severn Trent | 344 | 18.4 |
| South East | (1)98.9 | (1)23.7 |
| South Staffordshire | 77.1 | 22.3 |
| South West | 92 | 21.1 |
| Southern | 95 | 16.1 |
| Sutton and East Surrey | 24.9 | 16.4 |
| Tendring Hundred | 5.5 | 18.5 |
| Thames | 770 | 31.1 |
| Three Valleys | 135.0 | 19.8 |
| Wessex | 100 | 25.9 |
| York | 9.0 | 19.5 |
| Yorkshire | 333 | 26.9 |
(1) Following inquiries by Ofwat, South East Water was asked to resubmit its water balance for 1997-98 and 1998-99. However, the company failed to supply a robust data set in time for inclusion in the report. The figure given here is for 1996-97 and is taken from the 1996-97 report on leakage and water efficiency.
The Director General of Water Services sets annual mandatory leakage targets for each water undertaker. The latest targets for 2000-01 were also published in the report. These targets represent a 31 per cent. reduction in leakage in England since April 1997. Over the next year, my Department, Ofwat and the Environment Agency will conduct a joint study into the scope for future leakage reduction.
Contaminated Land
Mr. Bennett:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much contaminated land has been reclaimed in each of the last five years in each local authority area in the north-west of England. [104289]
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Mr. Meacher:
Information on the amount of contaminated land reclaimed is not held centrally. However, figures are available for the reclamation of
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derelict land. The table shows the spend by each local authority area, in the north-west region, for each of the last five years, under the Land Reclamation Programme.
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| 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumbria CC | 3.19 | 1.49 | 2.60 | 2.17 | 1.34 | -- |
| Allerdale | 0.79 | 0.00 | 0.11 | 0.18 | 0.00 | -- |
| Barrow | 1.18 | 0.04 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 0.15 | -- |
| Carlisle | 0.07 | 0.06 | 0.15 | 0.00 | 0.01 | -- |
| Copeland | 0.19 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | -- |
| Eden | 0.06 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | -- |
| South Lakeland | 0.00 | 0.05 | 0.29 | 0.06 | 0.01 | -- |
| Cumbria Total | 5.48 | 1.64 | 3.15 | 2.47 | 1.51 | 14.25 |
| Lancashire CC | 0.09 | 0.05 | 0.13 | 0.21 | 0.24 | -- |
| Blackburn | 0.07 | 1.51 | 0.17 | 0.03 | 0.13 | -- |
| Blackpool | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.02 | -- |
| Burnley | 0.01 | 0.05 | 0.07 | 0.02 | 0.11 | -- |
| Chorley | 1.03 | 0.11 | 0.02 | 0.08 | 0.01 | -- |
| Fylde | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | -- |
| Hyndburn | 0.93 | 0.05 | 0.00 | 0.27 | 0.20 | -- |
| Lancaster | 0.33 | 0.00 | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.11 | -- |
| Pendle | 0.12 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.25 | 0.03 | -- |
| Preston | 0.23 | 0.05 | 1.04 | 0.28 | 0.00 | -- |
| Ribble V | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.04 | -- |
| Rossendale | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.22 | 0.19 | 0.71 | -- |
| South Ribble | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | -- |
| West Lancashire | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | -- |
| Wyre | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | -- |
| Lancashire Total | 2.84 | 1.86 | 1.75 | 1.36 | 1.60 | 9.41 |
| Knowsley | 0.56 | 0.40 | 0.02 | 0.10 | 0.83 | -- |
| Liverpool | 0.00 | 0.35 | 0.24 | 0.35 | 0.18 | -- |
| Sefton | 0.63 | 1.06 | 0.77 | 0.20 | 1.33 | -- |
| St. Helens | 1.62 | 0.45 | 0.31 | 0.56 | 1.02 | -- |
| Wirral | 0.43 | 0.33 | 0.14 | 0.37 | 1.53 | -- |
| Merseyside Total | 3.24 | 2.59 | 1.48 | 1.58 | 4.89 | 13.78 |
| Bolton | 0.14 | 0.04 | 0.05 | 0.07 | 0.02 | -- |
| Bury | 1.75 | 0.12 | 0.48 | 0.80 | 1.07 | -- |
| Manchester | 0.97 | 0.91 | 1.12 | 0.78 | 0.70 | -- |
| Oldham | 1.30 | 0.37 | 0.21 | 1.80 | 0.22 | -- |
| Rochdale | 0.45 | 0.26 | 0.05 | 0.06 | 0.10 | -- |
| Salford | 0.40 | 0.83 | 0.39 | 0.66 | 0.81 | -- |
| Stockport | 3.17 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.20 | 0.47 | -- |
| Tameside | 2.99 | 0.83 | 0.18 | 0.28 | 0.97 | -- |
| Trafford | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.13 | 0.53 | 0.01 | -- |
| Wigan | 1.20 | 0.85 | 0.87 | 1.12 | 0.47 | -- |
| Greater Manchester Total | 12.37 | 4.21 | 3.48 | 6.30 | 4.84 | 31.20 |
| Cheshire CC | 1.68 | 0.09 | 0.86 | -0.19 | 0.69 | -- |
| Chester | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 0.00 | 0.01 | -- |
| Congleton | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | -- |
| Crewe and N | 0.08 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.00 | -- |
| E Port and N | 1.78 | 0.18 | 0.02 | 0.08 | -0.06 | -- |
| Halton | 0.90 | 0.29 | 0.21 | 0.05 | 0.11 | -- |
| Macclesfield | 0.09 | 0.18 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.00 | -- |
| Vale Royal | 0.30 | 0.08 | 0.15 | 0.12 | 0.01 | -- |
| Warrington | 0.31 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.02 | -- |
| Cheshire Total | 5.14 | 0.85 | 1.33 | 0.08 | 0.78 | 8.18 |
| Region Total | 29.07 | 11.15 | 11.19 | 11.79 | 13.62 | 76.82 |
Figures are also available for the amount of derelict land estimated to have been reclaimed from approvals under this programme, in the last five years, in the north-west region. These are as follows:
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| Year | Hectares |
|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 231 |
| 1995-96 | 221 |
| 1996-97 | 70 |
| 1997-98 | 167 |
| 1998-99 | 210 |
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