APPENDIX 6
Letter and memorandum to the Chairman
of the Committee from Jeremy Pelczer, Chief Operating Officer,
Thames Water Plc
Thames Water welcomes the Environment Audit
Committee's new inquiry into the effectiveness of, and the follow-up
to, the World Summit on Sustainable Development. I am delighted
to enclose our written evidence on this subject. This submission
is structured to reflect your Committee's five specific questions
and builds on Planet Water. This is a Thames Water document that
was published during the summer and that was recently sent to
you, which sets out the company's point of view on a range of
issues that affect sustainable water management both here in the
UK and overseas.
As you know, our Chief Executive, Bill Alexander,
was a member of the Prime Minister's Official Delegation to Johannesburg
and took part in a number of debates about the role of the water
sector in meeting the global sustainability challenge. We regard
the reaffirmation of the United Nations target on access to safe
drinking water and the new complementary target on access to sanitation,
together with the overarching political commitment to multi-sectoral
partnership and private sector participation, as the most positive
and significant outcomes of Johannesburg. With the political commitments
now in place, delivery is critical.
Since Johannesburg, Thames Water has stepped
up its involvement in a number of UK Government, EU and academic
initiatives and has appointed two new in-house experts on the
sustainable development agenda. In addition, Bill Alexander will
shortly take up the position of Chairman of the Water Sector Group
of Trade Partners UK. We remain absolutely committed to working
in partnership with others to help achieve the 2015 UN targets.
Finally, Thames Water would also be happy to
give oral evidence to your inquiry if there is an opportunity
to do so.
December 2002
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