UK Parliament / Open data

Water Industry (Financial Assistance) Bill

Debate on bills on Wednesday, 29 February 2012, in the House of Commons, led by Caroline Spelman.
Water Industry (Financial Assistance) Bill. Second Reading debate adjourned.
Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
541 c348-96 
Session
2010-12
Department
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Legislative stage
Second reading
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Related items
Water Industry (Financial Assistance) Bill. Explanatory notes Bill 299-EN also published.
Thursday, 2 February 2012
Bills
House of Commons
Future flood and water management legislation. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee first report with formal minutes and written evidence. Additional written evidence is contained in volume II, available on the Committee website.
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Parliamentary committees
House of Commons
The draft National Policy Statement on waste water. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee fourth report, with formal minutes. Additional written evidence is contained in volume II, available on the Parliament website.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Parliamentary committees
House of Commons
Proceeding contributions
Andrew George | 541 c357 (Link to this contribution) I note that the hon. Lady described the Bill as worthy and timely. I am curious about her line. She ...
Dan Rogerson | 541 c358 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Lady give way?

Show all contributions (122)
Mary Creagh | 541 c358 (Link to this contribution) I will make some progress, and then I will give way. Where specific issues required careful consider...
Frank Dobson | 541 c357 (Link to this contribution) In considering any water shortages that may or may not occur this year, will my hon. Friend and the ...
Mary Creagh | 541 c357 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that the Secretary of State will have digested that point from my right hon. Friend. This...
Matthew Offord | 541 c358 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps the hon. Lady could tell the House the average cost of a water bill in the south-west pre-pr...
Mary Creagh | 541 c358 (Link to this contribution) I do not know what the costs were, but I can say that all water bills were considerably lower pre-pr...
Matthew Offord | 541 c358 (Link to this contribution) How much was it in the south-west?
Mary Creagh | 541 c358-9 (Link to this contribution) I do not have those figures. Does the hon. Gentleman have them? Perhaps he will share them with the ...
Mary Creagh | 541 c355 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Lady think that the £50 a year for which the Bill provides until the end of the spendi...
Neil Parish | 541 c355-6 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Lady accept that this coalition Government have done more in 13 months than the previo...
Mary Creagh | 541 c355 (Link to this contribution) I have in my hand a graph from Ofwat's website about the annual average bill. The hon. Gentleman wil...
Sheryll Murray | 541 c355 (Link to this contribution) I paid water bills in the south-west for 13 years under the hon. Lady's Government and I cannot reme...
Mary Creagh | 541 c357 (Link to this contribution) That is fantastic; so we can look forward to a reform of the abstraction regime that will not take u...
Mary Creagh | 541 c356 (Link to this contribution) I take it from that answer that there will not be a full water Bill in the Queen's Speech this May. ...
Mary Creagh | 541 c356 (Link to this contribution) I am disappointed at the hon. Gentleman's tone, because he is ignoring the fact that we commissioned...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c356 (Link to this contribution) The Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for ...
Sheryll Murray | 541 c389 (Link to this contribution) Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that, from a south-west perspective, this is truly a cross-party...
Simon Hughes | 541 c389-90 (Link to this contribution) I absolutely accept that. I was not disputing the cross-party nature of the campaign. I was trying t...
Andy Slaughter | 541 c390-1 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman took part in a Westminster Hall debate last September—less than six months ...
Simon Hughes | 541 c391 (Link to this contribution) The answer is that there is a proposal on the table for what is called ““the full tunnel””. I am not...
Alex Cunningham | 541 c393-6 (Link to this contribution) I would like to talk about the Bill's impact on people in north-east England and to outline some of ...
Simon Hughes | 541 c391-3 (Link to this contribution) Rather than have a long dialogue, I will let the hon. Gentleman have a copy of my submission to Tham...
Oliver Colvile | 541 c396 (Link to this contribution) It is a delight and a pleasure to participate in this debate, particularly as I come from a city tha...
Andy Slaughter | 541 c391 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman is being very generous. When he says ““not the full tunnel””, I should poin...
Anne Marie Morris | 541 c384 (Link to this contribution) Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that despite the fact that the £50 cut will be impacted by high ...
Ben Bradshaw | 541 c384-5 (Link to this contribution) That is absolutely right. I am afraid that water customers across the country are paying the price f...
Matthew Offord | 541 c381-3 (Link to this contribution) I take it from that only that you would like me to talk even longer, Mr Speaker. I absolutely agree...
Ben Bradshaw | 541 c383 (Link to this contribution) I wholeheartedly associate myself with the final comments of the hon. Member for Hendon (Mr Offord)....
Lord Benyon | 541 c385 (Link to this contribution) I urge the right hon. Gentleman to read our water White Paper, which addressed many of the points th...
Ben Bradshaw | 541 c385 (Link to this contribution) I look forward to the recommendations in the White Paper being implemented in legislation. I hope th...
Anne Marie Morris | 541 c385 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the Government, because they have done an extremely fine job. Frankly, I find the com...
Simon Hughes | 541 c389 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the opportunity to take part in the debate and to follow the hon. Member for Plymo...
Alison Seabeck | 541 c386-9 (Link to this contribution) It is a great irony for us in the south-west, surrounded by water as we are, that we have the highes...
Anne Marie Morris | 541 c386 (Link to this contribution) Like the hon. Gentleman, we are all looking at how we can deal with the affordability issue. However...
Gavin Shuker | 541 c385 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady asked about Opposition policy. We support the £50 payments in the south-west, but are ...
Andrew George | 541 c374-5 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Cornwall has been at the bottom of the earnings league table pre...
Andrew George | 541 c375-6 (Link to this contribution) In my area, a large number of households run bed-and-breakfast facilities, guest houses and other bu...
Joan Ruddock | 541 c376-8 (Link to this contribution) May I start by apologising to the House? I have an urgent constituency engagement and will have to l...
Joan Ruddock | 541 c378-9 (Link to this contribution) I am most grateful to my right hon. Friend for that intervention. I will now slow down, as I know th...
Matthew Offord | 541 c380-1 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I am probably aware of whom he is citing, and, havi...
Andy Slaughter | 541 c380 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful case, and he is right to say that I visited a pumping statio...
Dan Rogerson | 541 c381 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful case for the need to be mindful at all times of how outdated...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering | 541 c374 (Link to this contribution) May I return to the hon. Gentleman's comment about almost being able to predict the dividend at the ...
Andrew George | 541 c373-4 (Link to this contribution) I absolutely agree that there are still many customers of South West Water who could enjoy lower bil...
Sheryll Murray | 541 c373 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that about 20,000 households in the south-west could reduce their bills by...
Andrew George | 541 c372-3 (Link to this contribution) Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I was in no way implying any criticism of your great office, or of the...
Speaker | 541 c372 (Link to this contribution) Order. I have been thanked for my indulgence, but let us just say that a conversation went on about ...
Andrew George | 541 c372 (Link to this contribution) It is always a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick). ...
Jim Fitzpatrick | 541 c370-2 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend anticipates the point that I am coming to, immediately after I make the point that wh...
Andy Slaughter | 541 c370 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is making a good point about a matter that was brought home to me recently. Hon. Memb...
Simon Hughes | 541 c374 (Link to this contribution) There is a link between the experience of colleagues and constituents in the south-west and that of ...
Andrew George | 541 c374 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that intervention. On the question of the high water bill...
Andrew George | 541 c374 (Link to this contribution) I certainly would not wish to denigrate or diminish in any way the importance of successful British ...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering | 541 c366-7 (Link to this contribution) Speaking in an entirely personal capacity, and looking at sustainable development and flood preventi...
Stephen Gilbert | 541 c366 (Link to this contribution) With some 200,000 homes in the country at risk of flooding, what mechanism would my hon. Friend prop...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering | 541 c367-8 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to rehearse the arguments I have just made, but every hon. Member could point to examp...
David Mowat | 541 c367 (Link to this contribution) I have listened to the points about the south-west, and I, too, have no problem with the region bein...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering | 541 c365 (Link to this contribution) In our report on the Thames tunnel, we did not consider aspects of affordability, which are rightly ...
David Mowat | 541 c365 (Link to this contribution) In the Select Committee's consideration of the £50 reduction in the south-west, did it look at water...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering | 541 c365-6 (Link to this contribution) I am most grateful. If it does not clash with our Committee meeting, all of us who are available wil...
Simon Hughes | 541 c365 (Link to this contribution) I pay tribute to the hon. Lady and her colleagues on the Select Committee. May I make an unashamed, ...
Frank Dobson | 541 c370 (Link to this contribution) Will my hon. Friend bear it in mind, when talking about the extra expense, that Thames Water, over t...
Jim Fitzpatrick | 541 c370 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend makes an important point that will be a matter for scrutiny in Committee. I exp...
Mary Creagh | 541 c365 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady said that she is not clear whether we support the Bill. I want to put it on the record...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering | 541 c364-5 (Link to this contribution) Given what the hon. Member for Edmonton (Mr Love) said as well, I do not think that the House is in ...
Simon Hughes | 541 c364 (Link to this contribution) The Minister knows that some of us have been asking for that process to be followed, and we look for...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering | 541 c363 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the Secretary of State and the Department on bringing forward what some might call a ...
Mary Creagh | 541 c362-3 (Link to this contribution) We have to look at the cost of water bills in the round—the average, unmetered cost of water bills. ...
Adrian Sanders | 541 c362 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Lady commit her party, should it ever return to power, to continue the £50 discount ea...
Neil Parish | 541 c364 (Link to this contribution) It is absolutely right that the planning process be taken into consideration. In my view, the Thames...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering | 541 c364 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, and I commend his work in bringing his constituents' concerns t...
Andrew Love | 541 c364 (Link to this contribution) I, too, express my interest in having a debate on the national policy statement, which is very impor...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering | 541 c364 (Link to this contribution) I am sure the Secretary of State, wherever she is, and my hon. Friend the Minister will have heard t...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering | 541 c365 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that the whole House will welcome the hon. Lady's helpful clarification, because her concl...
Andy Slaughter | 541 c361 (Link to this contribution) I agree with what my hon. Friend says about the Thames tunnel, and to that extent I agree with the S...
Mary Creagh | 541 c361 (Link to this contribution) We believe that the allocation of sums, guarantees, indemnities, or whatever form the financial assi...
Mary Creagh | 541 c361-2 (Link to this contribution) That used to be the province of the Liberal Democrats, but perhaps saying two different things, depe...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c359 (Link to this contribution) When the hon. Lady's party was in power, what did it plan to do about the fact that two thirds of pe...
Alison Seabeck | 541 c359 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps I can shed some light on what was going on under the previous Government. In the Plymouth so...
Mary Creagh | 541 c359 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Lady might want to answer her own question. We commissioned the Walker report, which ...
Dan Rogerson | 541 c360 (Link to this contribution) On the question of how WaterSure will be funded and placing obligations on companies, if we have a f...
Mary Creagh | 541 c359-60 (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend for that clarification. It is clear that much work was done in the south-west...
Simon Hughes | 541 c360-1 (Link to this contribution) I do not mean to pre-empt what the hon. Lady might say on the other aspects of bills to water rate p...
Mary Creagh | 541 c360 (Link to this contribution) That is an excellent point. That is why we were interested in the Government's consultation, which t...
Frank Dobson | 541 c354 (Link to this contribution) Will the right hon. Lady give way?
Caroline Spelman | 541 c354 (Link to this contribution) I am just summing up. It is right, however, that the House should get the chance to scrutinise our ...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering | 541 c354 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend will be aware that the Select Committee undertook some work on the waste water ...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c354 (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend for that question. As I just said, there were 21 working days for the nationa...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c354 (Link to this contribution) I have already taken one intervention from the hon. Gentleman. As the Bill contains just two simple...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c353-4 (Link to this contribution) I wish to make a little more progress. We believe that simply having this power available will help...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c353 (Link to this contribution) I share the right hon. Gentleman's concern that there should be rigour in this exercise, and I have ...
Simon Hughes | 541 c353 (Link to this contribution) I do not oppose the Bill at all, but may I just alert my right hon. Friend to something? Leaving asi...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c352-3 (Link to this contribution) Is the hon. Gentleman saying that his party is not in favour of trying to clean up the sewage out of...
Mary Creagh | 541 c354 (Link to this contribution) The Bill is welcome, if a little unexpected. It is welcome because it provides assistance to the peo...
Mary Creagh | 541 c355 (Link to this contribution) I am happy to report that the pigs I met in the farmer's field in the hon. Lady's constituency were ...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c348 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. In December, the Government published ““Wat...
Tobias Ellwood | 541 c348 (Link to this contribution) I do not want my right hon. Friend to digress too far from her speech. She mentioned hosepipe bans t...
Alison Seabeck | 541 c351 (Link to this contribution) Will the proposals that the Secretary of State has just mentioned be similar to the present regulati...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c351-2 (Link to this contribution) Electricity utility bills are the domain of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, rather than...
Andrew Love | 541 c352 (Link to this contribution) Over 1 million customers of Thames Water are in what is termed water poverty. The Thames tunnel, whi...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c352 (Link to this contribution) Naturally, Thames Water will be one of the water companies looking at a company social tariff. That ...
Steve McCabe | 541 c349 (Link to this contribution) Does the Secretary of State accept that average water bills across the country are set to rise by al...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c348-9 (Link to this contribution) Thought has been given to that. We had a drought summit last week, and I have said publicly that hos...
Andrew George | 541 c350 (Link to this contribution) Let me congratulate my right hon. Friend on bringing forward this measure and remind her of the cros...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c349-50 (Link to this contribution) I can give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that water companies are indeed tightening their belts l...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c350-1 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is quite right. Indeed, I look across the Chamber to the right hon. Member for Exeter...
Mary Creagh | 541 c357-8 (Link to this contribution) I am happy to say that we will not vote against the Bill. If the hon. Gentleman waits, I will come o...
Stephen Gilbert | 541 c355 (Link to this contribution) This seems to be a particularly smelly debate. Can the hon. Lady explain why over 13 years, despite ...
Matthew Offord | 541 c379-80 (Link to this contribution) I rise to support the Bill, as I have much experience of both South West Water and Thames Water, How...
Speaker | 541 c381 (Link to this contribution) Order. There is a worrying pattern developing whereby the erudition of interventions is equalled onl...
Jim Fitzpatrick | 541 c368-9 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Miss McIntosh), who as Chair of th...
Andy Slaughter | 541 c352 (Link to this contribution) Does the Secretary of State agree that the cost of the tunnel is too large to justify the environmen...
Caroline Spelman | 541 c352 (Link to this contribution) Let me make a little progress, if I may. We need a solution that prevents sewage from entering the ...
Matthew Offord | 541 c374 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree that this is about not only the cost of water bills in the south-west ...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering | 541 c355 (Link to this contribution) I am delighted that the hon. Lady had the opportunity to visit my constituency and I look forward to...
Subjects
Finance
Greater London
Infrastructure
Government assistance
Pollution
Water
Water charges
Water supply
Water companies
Sewers
South West Water
Thames Water
River Thames
South West
Social tariffs
Legislation
Water Industry (Financial Assistance) Bill 2010-12
Link
View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk
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