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Mr. Straw: Yes, I do. As I spelled out, the Palestinian Authority have a clear responsibility to do that, and we hold them to it, but the international community and the Government of Israel have a responsibility for the climate that is created in which these things can happen.
Mr. Harry Barnes (North-East Derbyshire): Involved in Saddam Hussein's totalitarian control of the Iraqi people was the domination and subversion of three major sets of organisations: youth organisations, women's organisations and trade unions. Now that those are free, they can help to bridge the ethnic divisions in Iraq and to build democracy. What is being done to facilitate those organisations' work in achieving that?
Mr. Straw: A good deal is being done to build up civic society in Iraq. Obviously in the last month the prospects for doing that have been set back by the terrorist outrages, which have created straightforward insecurity in the areas where they took place and an atmosphere of insecurity across wider Iraq. Already, however, the fact that so many newspapers have been founded and are being published and that so many political parties are being formed shows that, to pick up on the point made by my right hon. Friend the Member for just south of Ayr—
Mr. Foulkes: Come on. Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley.
Mr. Straw: Yes, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley—near Ayr.
That shows that Iraqis are already, even in these circumstances, enjoying freedoms of action and thought undreamt of during Saddam Hussein's regime.
David Cairns (Greenock and Inverclyde): My right hon. Friend said in his statement of Abu Ala: "We will judge him by his commitment to the peace process." Having been fortunate enough to meet Abu Ala, may I tell my right hon. Friend that I believe that he is absolutely committed to the peace process and is a leader of wisdom and pragmatism? However, he needs to be able to demonstrate that he is his own man if he is to have any credibility with Israel and the Quartet. To that end, would it not be a good first step if he could persuade the Palestinian security chief, who resigned at the same time as Abu Mazen and showed that he was not only paying lip service to the aim of dealing with terrorism but was doing something about it, to change his mind and come back on board? That would go some way to meeting some of the concerns expressed in Israel that the Palestinian Authority have to act as one against terrorism, not just paying lip service to that idea, but doing something about it.
Mr. Straw: My hon. Friend makes an important point. It is not for us to get involved in the internal politics of the Palestinian Authority or any equivalent authority. However, I would say that Abu Ala has a very distinguished record as one of the architects of the Oslo accord, and he is a man of peace. It is crucial that he is given authority by Chairman Arafat and that he has the security forces under his control, in a co-ordinated command that enables him to carry out the key task facing any Government in the occupied territories: establishing their authority over the terrorist groups, eliminating them and making the occupied territories secure. If they are able to achieve that, and the Israelis and the international community have an important part to play in that, confidence will build up and, with a bit of luck, we will return to the virtuous circle that existed before Hamas set about blowing up the peace process on 19 August.
Point of Order
Mr. George Foulkes (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley): On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. It has emerged in the last week that Mr. Andrew Gilligan, who was a witness before the Foreign Affairs Committee, was briefing Liberal Democrat and Tory Members of that Select Committee. That appears to be an abuse of the House. Will you look into it?
Mr. Speaker: I will write to the right hon. Gentleman.
Orders of the DayWater Bill
Order for Second Reading read.
Mr. Speaker: I inform the House that I have selected the amendment in the name of the Leader of the Opposition. I also inform the House that there is an eight-minute limit on Back-Bench speeches.
5.24 pm
The Minister for the Environment (Mr. Elliot Morley): I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.
The Government are committed to sustainable development. In "Directing the Flow", published nearly a year ago, we set out our strategic vision for the future direction of water policy and firmly established the place of water among our broader sustainability objectives. The high level of importance that the Government attach to water sustainability is shown throughout the Bill.
I shall outline the three main aims of the Bill. First, it improves water resource management and conservation by building upon existing legislation. Secondly, it addresses the issue of better regulation of the water industry, strengthening the voice of consumers and putting their needs at the centre of the regulator's responsibilities, equal in standing with the companies. Thirdly, it provides an increased opportunity for competition, benefiting large non-domestic consumers in the first instance.
Part 1, along with elements of part 3, is about the long-term sustainable use of water resources. This objective is set against a background of increased water demand and the uncertainties of climate change, and it reflects a major aim of the water framework directive.
Sustainability is about striking a balance between these potentially conflicting demands. The Bill strikes such a balance. It starts by placing a direct duty on the Secretary of State to encourage water conservation and an enhanced duty on the water industry. It sets up essential tools to manage water resources to help balance the conflict between the availability of resources and increasing demand. Water resource management plans and drought plans that are detailed in part 3 will help water companies to forward plan, ultimately protecting their interests and those of consumers, while ensuring that any potential environmental damage is limited.
Tony Lloyd (Manchester, Central): On the protection of consumers, in the House of Lords the Government set their face quite strongly against the rights of the new consumer council to make publicly available information that it felt was in the public interest. Why did the Government take that stance? Will there be an opportunity during the Bill's passage through this place to reconsider these matters and to reflect that consumers' interests would be greatly strengthened if consumer councils had the right to operate in accordance with, for example, freedom of information legislation?
Mr. Morley: I confirm that there will be an opportunity during the Bill's passage through this place
to discuss such issues, both in Committee and on Report. As for the availability of information, I assure my hon. Friend that we want to ensure that the maximum amount of information is available to consumer bodies and is available to be put in the public domain. Water Voice will have the opportunity of appealing to the regulator if it feels that information is being unreasonably withheld. The argument is about just how far consumer bodies can go, and to ensure also that the way in which Water Voice is treated is consistent with the treatment of other consumer bodies that represent other utilities. That position was taken in the other place. There will be an opportunity to discuss the balance during the Bill's passage.
Mr. John Horam (Orpington): Will the hon. Gentlemen tell me how far his Department, including the Secretary of State, have had discussions on forward planning with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister? I am thinking particularly of the issue of water in the south-east.
Mr. Morley: That strays beyond the Bill's remit, but I am happy to answer the question. With major developments, there are planning issues. In the case of the south-east, there is the Thames gateway, which is a significant potential development. A joint committee has been set up by the Government, so that there is discussion between my Department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department for Transport about the demands that a large-scale development in areas such as the south-east will produce. Water resource management is one of those issues. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we take such issues seriously. We are addressing them in terms of future strategic planning and housing developments in the south-east and in other areas.
Water undertakers already produce plans voluntarily, but the Bill makes them compulsory and enforceable. Greater accountability is the key to the Bill, enhancing Environment Agency powers to apply the "polluter pays" principle to water abstraction and increasing the level of information available to the public on water resources.
If we are serious about sustainability, we must not assume that things can carry on in the same way forever. It means making sure that we fully understand the levels of resources and demand, which is very much the point made by the hon. Gentleman.
We will limit activities where necessary, based on sound judgment and good reason. The Bill therefore brings some previously exempt abstractions into the licensing system. We are moving to a system where exemptions from licence control are linked to purpose—one where exemptions are linked to impact via the new threshold of 20 cu m a day, which can be varied as necessary. The control of all types of abstraction gives us the ability to manage and rebalance as necessary the allocation of water between various classes of abstracter and the environment.
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