Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Knight, and my noble friend Lord Greaves for taking part in this debate and for the warm welcome they have given these regulations. I acknowledge the work of the previous Government in getting us a long way down the track towards them. The principal issues raised were as follows. The noble Lord, Lord Knight, referred to the lengthy time spent in consultation before the regulations were produced, and no one can disagree with that. One can only hope that as a result, as my noble friend asked, the regulations will indeed be effective and stand the test of time. The noble Lord, Lord Knight, raised a question about the recovery of costs, how much they will be and who they will affect. Before he arrived for the debate, I had explained that the water and sewerage companies will obviously recover their costs through charges to customers for sewerage services. I indicated that it is estimated that transfer will add an average of £5 to £8 per annum to water bills up to 2018, in a range from £3 to £14. While increases in charges are never welcome, they will be up to or a little over £1 a month. Those are relatively modest annual increases, which is to be preferred to a system in which the costs fall unequally across water charge payers or unfairly on individuals. Overall, they represent a sound investment in the future maintenance of essential assets. The transfer exercise does not itself trigger major expenditure on those parts of the system that are working satisfactorily, and it is for the water and sewerage companies to assess and prioritise what is essential short-term maintenance, repair or replacement. I understand that everyone will pay within the range of £3 to £14, and that there is no difference between business and domestic customers. The noble Lord, Lord Knight, raised the issue of the south-west, which is of course particularly important. We are looking at the somewhat complex issues around affordability in the region. The particular issues regarding private sewers have not affected our thinking in this respect, and the Government are committed to supporting households facing water affordability pressures. On 5 April, we published our consultation on water affordability, including recommendations in relation to the south-west region. It invites views on options to reduce the bills of all household customers of South West Water as well as options for providing additional assistance to low-income households. As pledged in the Budget, additional assistance will be provided through public expenditure and our proposals will be set out in the water White Paper due in the autumn. The noble Lord asked about Crown leasehold land and transfer there. Leasehold arrangements in respect of Crown land will not result in exclusion from transfer. My noble friend Lord Greaves made some important points. I certainly agree with him that this is not by any means a trivial matter. He asked whether the regulations will solve the problem once and for all. We believe them to be a permanent solution; that is the basis on which we are going into this. He also asked about conflicting dates and was quite right to do so. The correct date is 2018. My noble friend also asked a couple of questions about boundaries. Guidance on the regulations is being prepared and is expected to be published during the summer, in time for transfer on 1 October. I take to heart his comments, which will be considered in the preparation of that guidance. It is intended that property boundaries should be at the junction with the street—the back edge of the pavement. I can also tell him that sewers under unadopted roads will be transferred. Where points have been raised in the debate to which I have not responded, I will of course write to noble Lords. To conclude, the transfer is intended to put right the anomaly that, subsequent to the Public Health Act 1936, even where adoption agreements were reached, the adoption process was not concluded. Transfer will relieve individuals of the burden and expense of maintaining private sewers where access and cost recovery can be difficult. It will achieve a better integrated and more consistently managed sewerage system that is more resilient and better able to adapt to future challenges—for example, climate change. With regard to costs, the relatively modest annual increases that are estimated to arise from the transfer, fairly shared among water charge payers, are, as I have said, a sound investment in the maintenance of vital assets. Transfer will remove the unfair cost subsidy whereby pre-1937 drains are maintained by statutory sewerage undertakers while the owners of post-1937 drains are obliged to contribute to this upkeep through sewerage charges but, in addition, are responsible for the upkeep of their own private sewers. It will place those with post-1937 sewers on a similar footing to those with pre-1937 sewers. The regulations will provide the reassurance that companies will work to minimum standards of service and costs, regulated by Ofwat. Parliamentary approval of these transfer regulations will mean that transfer can go ahead as planned on 1 October. I beg to move. Motion agreed.