Water Industry (Financial Assistance) Bill

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. I begin by thanking all Members who have contributed to the debates on Second Reading and in Committee today. I pay particular tribute to the hon. Member for Luton South (Gavin Shuker), who was decent in consulting me and put forward articulately how he viewed the Bill and how he believed it could be changed. I am sure we will have many further discussions over future legislation. Many right hon. and hon. Members contributed to the debate. I pay particular tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton (Miss McIntosh), who spoke with her customary knowledge on this issue. For the record, I would like to correct an impression I might have given in Committee about the funding of water bills in the south-west. I can confirm the Government's firm commitment that the funding will continue until the end of the next spending round. The Treasury will fund the bills until the end of the current round, and the impact on DEFRA's budget in the next round will of course be a matter for us to discuss. The Bill is straightforward in its intent and drafting. It fulfils two spending commitments set out by the Chancellor in his autumn statement, both of which were designed to reduce the costs of infrastructure investment falling on water and sewerage customers. Through the amendments that we have discussed today—which I have considered carefully—ran a common thread: a desire to limit and delay Government action to help hard-pressed bill payers. After so many years of debate, we want to get on with funding South West Water to enable it to cut bills for its household customers. We have a separate package to deal with wider affordability problems. We also want to reassure potential investors in the Thames tideway tunnel at an early stage that the Government are willing to provide contingent financial support for exceptional project risk when that offers the best value for money for Thames Water customers and taxpayers. I shall refrain from discussing the need for the tunnel today in order not to repeat myself, as on Monday the House will debate the waste water national policy statement, which includes a statement of need. On Second Reading, Members rightly mentioned their constituents' concern about the potential local impacts of the tunnel's construction; I assure them that they and their constituents can provide input on such issues at all appropriate stages of the planning process. I also understand the concern that has been expressed about the breadth of the powers in the Bill, but those powers are by no means unusual in containing flexibility for the purpose of future circumstances, and they do not remove the need and opportunity for proper parliamentary scrutiny of Government spending plans in the usual way. Our water White Paper, ““Water for Life””, sent the strong message that we need to be prepared for an uncertain future. The current drought is just a small taste of what may follow if we do not act to make our water supply and sewerage systems more resilient. That will require continuing investment in infrastructure, as well as action by all of us to conserve water. As I have said, we are confident that our system of economic regulation can ensure that bills remain affordable generally, while the existing WaterSure scheme, together with targeted social tariffs and other support delivered by water companies, can help those in need. More than £90 billion has been invested since privatisation, while bills remain on average around £1 per day. That is testimony to the strength of the current system. However, exceptional circumstances do arise. We have seen it in the south-west, and we have seen it with the Thames tunnel. Of course, infrastructure investment does not just bring cost. As I said earlier, jobs and growth are central to the Government's agenda. Thames Water currently estimates that the Thames tunnel project would directly employ around 4,200 people in the construction and related sectors, and would provide several thousand secondary jobs in the supply chain and the wider London economy. That is not in itself a reason to support the construction of the tunnel, for obvious reasons, but it is nevertheless a big win for London and for the country in terms of what it can do for our skills base and our economy. Thames Water aims to ensure that local workers make up 20% of its tunnel construction work force. I am grateful for the swift passage of the Bill, and for the many thoughtful contributions that have been made to our debates. As a number of Members have noted, there has been a cross-party effort by those representing constituencies in the south-west to keep the issue of high water bills in the region on the political agenda. I am pleased that Members in all parts of the House also recognise the need to deal with the sewage discharges that are sullying the most important river going through one of the most important cities in the world. I commend the Bill to the House.