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Water Industry

Lord Morgan asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress they are making with their review of competition in the water industry in England and Wales.[HL3372]

Lord Whitty: On 30 March 2001 (HC, Deb col 832W) my right honourable friend the Minister of State for the environment informed the House in another place that the Government had decided to boost the opportunities for competition in public water services in England and Wales. We proposed that the incumbent water companies would remain vertically integrated statutory undertakers, while new entrants would be licensed for production and retail activities. Since then, Defra has undertaken further detailed work on the future framework, in close collaboration with other government departments, the National Assembly for Wales and the three principal regulators of the water industry: Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and the Environment Agency.

Competition can deliver benefits for customers through keener prices, more innovation and improved service quality. But competition must be consistent with the Government's wider policy objectives for the water industry. It is important for the framework and scope of any further competitive activity to be tailored to the particular circumstances of the industry and the needs of its customers.

After thorough consideration, we propose to extend competition for non-household customers that use large quantities of water. Market entrants will be authorised to enter into common carriage agreements with statutory undertakers to supply premises which use more than a specified threshold of water per year. We propose that this should be set initially at 50 megalitres, based on the evidence currently available. Work is under way to assess the likely effects of lower threshold levels both in terms of increasing competitive opportunity and the Government's wider policy objectives for the water industry. Views will be invited on the threshold in a forthcoming consultation paper. This further analysis, the views received in response to consultation and consideration of the implications for all customers will inform any final decisions on the initial threshold to be introduced in England and Wales.

Any subsequent lowering of the initial threshold will be considered once we have the benefit of practical experience to draw on. We would consult publicly on any proposed change and the same considerations would apply as in the case of the initial threshold. From the outset, new entrants to the industry will be expected to co-operate with the statutory undertakers in preparing and implementing water resource, security and emergency planning.

We have considered very carefully whether to introduce competition now for household customers. We have concluded that extending competition to the domestic water sector, while at the same time seeking to ensure that the Government's public health, social and environmental objectives continued to be met,

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would require a complex and costly regulatory regime which would still leave substantial uncertainties. The added complexity would militate against effective competition and the extra costs would have to be borne mainly by customers. In our view, these drawbacks are likely to outweigh the potential benefits.

Household and other customers can continue to rely on the present system of comparative competition operated by Ofwat to encourage water companies to improve efficiency and their services. Average household customers are now paying 13 per cent less than in 1999, a reduction of £33 in real terms.

We shall be publishing a consultation paper with further details of our proposals later this year. As previously announced, our intention is to introduce a water Bill to bring these changes into effect. The draft Bill also contains proposals to put customers at the heart of the regulatory process, including setting up an independent consumer body to be the voice of consumers.

Employment and Social Policy Council, 7 March

Lord Acton asked Her Majesty's Government:

What the outcome was of the Employment and Social Policy Council held in Brussels on 7 March and what the Government's stance was on each issue discussed, including their voting record.[HL3363]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham): My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Malcolm Wicks) represented the UK at the Employment and Social Policy Council in Brussels on 7 March, together with the Minister of State for Employment Relations and the regions, my honourable friend the Member for Hull West and Hessle (Alan Johnson).

The main business of this Council was a debate in preparation for the forthcoming European Council in Barcelona. The Spanish Presidency issued its own conclusions. The UK supported the key themes of improved co-ordination of economic and employment policy and the importance of aligning the new European employment strategy with the Lisbon goal of full employment. Member states recognised the need to integrate disadvantaged groups, particularly older workers, into the labour market to achieve this goal and acknowledged the vital role played by lifelong learning in achieving the Lisbon targets.

Council also held an open debate on violence against women which formed the basis of Presidency Conclusions for Barcelona. There was consensus on the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to this issue, with broad agreement on the use of good practice guides and annual awareness raising campaigns at a European level. The fortcoming Danish Presidency will take forward this work in the context of the Council's annual follow-up of the member states'

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implementation of their commitments under the Beijing Platform for Action, including discussions on the necessity for, and potential scope of, indicators in this field.

The Presidency sought an outline position on the proposal for a directive updating the existing directive on the protection of workers from the risks of exposure to asbestos, pending the adoption by the European Parliament of its first reading opinion. After a debate, which hinged on a proposal to include a general ban on asbestos within the directive, the dossier was remitted to COREPER for further work.

The Council also heard a progress report on negotiations for the draft directive supplementing the proposed regulation for a statute on a European co-operative society in respect of employee involvement. Work will continue on this dossier in COREPER.

Among the other agenda items discussed, the Council approved the work programmes for the Employment Committee and the Social Protection Committee for 2002.

The Presidency noted that the UN 2nd World Conference on Ageing would be held in Madrid in April. A Commission communication will be produced as a contribution shortly.

The Presidency reported on a series of seminars and events that have taken place since the beginning of their Presidency.

No votes were taken at this Council.

Devolution in the Regions: White Paper

Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the planned publication date of the White Paper on devolution in the regions of England has been put back from March 2002; and, if so, when they now expect to publish it.[HL3081]

The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston): The White Paper will be presented to Parliament as soon as it is ready.

Intelligence Service: Counter Terrorism Expenditure

Lord Vivian asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much money has been allocated to the Intelligence Services since 11 September 2001.[HL3136]

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: The Winter Supplementary Estimates for the Security and Intelligence Agencies (Cm 5333, placed in the House Libraries on 28 November 2001) increased the departmental expenditure limit for financial year 2001–02 from £879,069,000 to £891,833,000. The Spring Supplementary Estimates for the Security and Intelligence Agencies (Cm 5382, placed in the House Libraries on 14 February 2002) further increased the

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departmental expenditure limit to £899,354,000 and stated that this would include £53,725,000 drawn from the Treasury Reserve for further counter-terrorism work.

Public Bodies: Appointment of Women

Baroness Thomas of Walliswood asked Her Majesty's Government:

What assessment they have made of the percentage of (a) paid and (b) unpaid appointments to non-departmental public bodies made to women in each year since 1997.[HL3324]

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: Information on the gender and remuneration of the chair and members of the board of public bodies is set out in the annual publication Public Bodies, copies of which are also in the Library of the House. lynne

Health Tourism

Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:

What measures they are taking to promote health tourism at spas in the United Kingdom; and[HL3130]

What estimate they have made of the contribution of health tourism at spas to the economy of the United Kingdom.[HL3131]

The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Blackstone): The Government's intention to promote innovative niche markets, such as health tourism, was set out in Tomorrow's Tourism. The English Tourism Council has also recently published, Health Benefits: the market opportunities for health tourism in England, which highlighted the potential for growth of health tourism in the UK. The report identified that health tourism is worth £6 billion a year, £1.4 billion of which comes from spa breaks.

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