Amendments proposed to the Water Bill [lords] - continued	House of Commons
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Water resource management plans and drought plans implementation

   

Mr Bill Wiggin
Mr George Osborne
Mr Robert Key

NC3

To move the following Clause—

       'After section 39A of the WIA there is inserted—

    "39D   Water resource management plans and drought plans: implementation

       In carrying out their respective functions, the Environment Agency and the Authority shall—

(a)	take into account the requirements of—

(i)	all water resource management plans prepared in accordance with sections 37A to 37D above, and

(ii)	all drought plans prepared in accordance with sections 39B and 39C above; and

(b)	in that regard co-ordinate the exercise of their respective functions.".'.

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Protection from disconnection for specified households in mixed use premises

   

Mr Bill Wiggin
Mr George Osborne
Mr Robert Key
Norman Baker
Sue Doughty

NC4

To move the following Clause—

       'In Schedule 4A to WIA there is inserted—

    "1A(1)   Premises which include any dwelling which is occupied by a person as his only or principal home and whose household normally includes—

(a)	an individual who is disabled or chronically sick;

(b)	an individual of pensionable age; or

(c)	a child under the age of five.

    (2)   In this paragraph, "dwelling" has the meaning given by paragraph 1(2)".'.

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Appeals: disputes over duty to provide sewers

   

Mr Bill Wiggin
Mr George Osborne
Mr Robert Key

NC10

To move the following Clause—

    '(1)   Section 101A of the WIA (further duty to provide sewers) is amended as follows.

    (2)   In subsections (7) to (10), wherever the words "Environment Agency" appear, there is substituted "Secretary of State".'.

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Liability of owners for charges

   

Mr Bill Wiggin
Mr George Osborne
Mr Robert Key

NC11

To move the following Clause—

    '(1)   In section 144 of the WIA (relating to the liability of occupiers for charges), in subsection (1), after "of this section", there is inserted "and of section 144AA below".

    (2)   After section 144 of the WIA there is inserted—

    "144AA   Liability of owners etc. for charges in prescribed cases

    (1)   In respect of any premises of a class prescribed for the purposes of this section, section 144 above shall take effect as if for the references throughout that section to the occupier or the occupation of premises there were substituted references to the owner or ownership of such premises.

    (2)   Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (1) above may also modify or extend the application of that subsection in one or more of the following respects by providing that—

(a)

in relation to any specified types of premises within the class of premises prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1) above, for the references to the owners and ownership of such specified premises, there shall be substituted references to such other categories of persons and to such rights as may be prescribed by the regulations;

(b)	specified classes of persons who are—

(i)	owners of classes of premises prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1) above, or

(ii)	within those categories of persons prescribed for the purposes of subsection (2)(a) above,

shall be excluded from the application of the regulations;

(c)

the owner or occupier of any premises of a class prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1) above which are provided with any service by a relevant undertaker in the course of carrying out its functions shall, when requested in writing to do so by the undertaker, provide the undertaker with such information as may be prescribed concerning the ownership or occupation of those premises;

(d)

such statutory undertakers or public bodies as may be prescribed shall, when requested in writing to do so by a relevant undertaker, provide the undertaker with such information as may be prescribed concerning the current or former ownership or occupation of any premises of a class prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1) above which are or have been provided with any service by the undertaker in the course of carrying out its functions.".'.

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Liability of owners for charges (No. 2)

   

Mr Bill Wiggin
Mr George Osborne
Mr Robert Key

NC12

To move the following Clause:—

    '(1)   In section 144 of the WIA (relating to the liability of occupiers for charges), in subsection (1), after "Subject to" insert "section 144AA below and".

    (2)   After section 144 of the WIA insert—

    "144AALiability of owners for charges    (1)   Subject to the following provisions of this section, where—

(a)	any premises are occupied by any person by virtue of any tenancy, licence, contract, enactment or implication of law for any period or term of less than one year, and

(b)	those premises are provided with any services by a relevant undertaker in the course of carrying out its functions,

       the undertaker may provide in any charges scheme which it makes under section 143 above for the owner of those premises (instead of the occupier) to be liable for the payment of the charges for the provision of those services and to be treated for the purposes of section 144 above as if he were the occupier of those premises.

    (2)   Subsection (1) above shall not apply to any owner which is a local authority, Government agency or publicly funded body which is prescribed by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this subsection.

    (3)   The owner or occupier of any premises which are provided with any services by a relevant undertaker in the course of carrying out its functions shall, when requested in writing to do so by the undertaker, provide the undertaker with all such information as the undertaker may reasonably require for determining whether this section applied to those premises.

    (4)   Subsection (3) shall be enforceable by the County Court.

    (5)   In this section, 'premises' shall include 'mobile home' as defined by section 9 of the Mobile Homes Act 1975.".'.

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Discharges to watercourses

   

Mr Bill Wiggin
Mr George Osborne
Mr Robert Key

NC13

To move the following Clause:—

    '(1)   After section 165 of the WIA, there is inserted—

    "165A   Power to discharge to watercourses

    (1)   Subject to the following provisions of this section, every sewerage undertaker may, for the purpose of carrying out its functions, discharge water with or without other matter from any relevant pipe into any watercourse.

    (2)   Nothing in this section shall authorise any discharge which—

(a)	damages or injuriously affects the works or property of any railway undertakers, navigation authority or riparian owner; or

(b)	floods or damages any highway.

    (3)   Nothing in this section shall be construed as permitting the making of any discharge without the authority of any consent that may be required by virtue of Part III of the Water Resources Act 1991.

    (4)   The provisions of paragraph 6 of Schedule 12 to this Act shall apply to the exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (1) above.

    (5)   In this section 'relevant pipe' means any sewer, storm-water overflow, sewer, disposal main, lateral drain or outfall owned by or vested in a sewerage undertaker."

    (2)   In section 219(1) of the WIA (general interpretation), in the definition of 'accessories', after 'wash-out pipes,' there is inserted 'outfalls (with ancillary works)'.

    (3)   In Schedule 12 to the WIA (compensation etc. in respect of pipe-laying and other works powers)—

(a)	in paragraph 6(1)(a), after 'section 165' there is inserted 'for section 165A'; and

(b)	in paragraph 6(2)(b), after 'section 165 of this Act' there is inserted ', or of water or effluent under section 165A of this Act'.'.

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Liability of owners, etc., to provide information

   

Norman Baker
Sue Doughty

NC15

To move the following Clause:—

       After section 144 of the W1A there is inserted—

    "144AA.   Liability of owners etc to provide information

    (1)   The owner or occupier of any premises of a class prescribed for the purposes of this section which are provided with any service by a relevant undertaker in the course of carrying out its functions shall, when requested in writing to do so by the undertaker, provide the undertaker with such information as may be prescribed concerning the ownership or occupation of those premises.

    (2)   Such statutory undertakers or public bodies as may be prescribed shall, when requested in writing to do so by a relevant undertaker, provide the undertaker with such information as may be prescribed concerning the current or former ownership or occupation of any premises of a class prescribed for the purposes of this section which are or have been provided with any service by the undertaker in the course of carrying out its functions.

    (3)   Information which is required to be provided under either subsection (1) or (2) above shall be provided in such manner and within such time as may be prescribed.

    (4)   The Secretary of State shall by regulations make provisions for the purposes of subsection (1) to (3) above.".'.

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Reorganisation of regional flood defence committees

   

Mr Bill Wiggin
Mr George Osborne
Mr Robert Key

NC17

To move the following Clause:—

    '(1)   Section 15 of the Environment Act 1995 (composition of regional flood defence committees) is amended as follows.

    (2)   After subsection (5) there is inserted—

    "(5A)   Where the Secretary of State has revoked any local flood defence scheme under section 18A of this Act, in appointing members of retained or new regional flood defence committees the Secretary of State shall have regard to the desirability of appointing persons who have knowledge and experience of flood defence in the local areas of those committees.".'.

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Prepared 21 Oct 2003