Water Industry (Financial Assistance) Bill

It is fair to say that the Bill affects a specific part of England, and it would not be appropriate for me to start giving advice to the Northern Ireland Assembly as to what it should and should not do, so I shall continue—I do not have far to go, and no doubt the hon. Gentleman can make his contribution on that at a later date. I am arguing that to deliver that connectivity, there should be greater use of canals and waterways. I very much welcome the £50 off the water rates, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Minister for ensuring it, but I hope it will be a temporary solution and that the Government make the cut more sustainable by creating greater competition within the market; reforming Ofwat, so that it has a greater role in delivering that competition; making greater use of our canal system and waterways to move water between regions; and explaining how we can reduce the bad debt element of water rates. I hope that in providing those answers, we can ensure that we stop pushing water uphill and that we have affordable water bills.