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Water Supply: Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
From what year the rates in Northern Ireland did not include a charge for water; why the change was made; after what consultation process the change was made; and how members of the public were informed of the change of policy.[HL2633]
Lord Rooker: Up to and including 1999, an element of the regional rate was hypothecated to cover water and sewerage charges. As part of the devolution settlement, and in order to provide the Northern Ireland Executive with greater flexibility as to the use of resources, agreement was reached with HM Treasury to remove the hypothecation. This involved
28 Mar 2007 : Column WA289
Water Supply: Purification
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have plans to require water companies to produce disaggregated reports of (a) the capital, and (b) the operating costs associated with purifying water of pesticides, nitrates, cryptosporidium and metals. [HL2713]
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Ofwat is the economic regulator of the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales. Companies report to Ofwat each year on their expenditure (both capital and operating costs) to deliver water and sewerage services. These reports are available on Ofwat’s website and include the additional costs of water treatment to reduce levels of pesticides and nitrates and other parameters to comply with water quality standards and to reduce the risk from cryptosporidium.
Companies report additional capital expenditure for new assets on a disaggregated basis by nitrates, pesticides, cryptosporidium and other parameters. The additional operating costs are reported as an overall figure for these new assets.
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