I want to speak to new clause 13, which I have tabled. It is headed, “Unlawful communications”. Several hon. Members have asked me about that, and I apologise because it is a little confusing. It does not deal with unlawful communications but unlawful connections, or, more colloquially, misconnections. The new clause would amend section 109 of the Water Industry Act 1991, and that is why it uses the word “communications”, which is used in that Act. It is exactly the same as an amendment that was included in the draft Flood and Water Management Bill of 2009 but sadly had to be dropped from the final Bill because of a lack of legislative time as we approached the 2010 general election. The reason for tabling the new clause is to find out why the provision has not been included in this Bill.
Misconnections occur when separate surface water and foul water sewers are wrongly connected by households or businesses. The reasons for this range from the over-enthusiasm of household DIYers to cowboy builders and plumbers connecting to the first and most convenient sewer, which is often the wrong one. The consequence is pollution of groundwater, watercourses, streams, rivers, and, in my case, a local lake. The problem comes to light only as a result of the visible pollution that we can see, which is sometimes accompanied by some rather unpleasant smells, as has affected local communities in my constituency.
The cost of tracking this down once it has been discovered is very difficult to quantify, because it is extremely difficult to find out where the misconnections have taken place. It is also very time-consuming. As a result, it is a significant problem, particularly in more densely populated areas. A large number of misconnections are occurring in parts of my constituency.
Thames Water estimates that one in 10 homes in its area are misconnected. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs estimates that 300,000 homes in England and Wales were misconnected in 2009 and, ominously, that the number will increase to 500,000 by 2015.
Part of the solution, of course, is better information about and greater awareness of the problem of misconnection. Some steps have been taken to try to address that. Thames Water has set up an industry strategy group, as have other water companies. My local authority has sent leaflets to areas particularly badly affected. Of course, we can do better, but the reality in my constituency and up and down the country—this is verified by DEFRA figures—is that, as current misconnections are dealt with, others are adding to the problem and it is getting worse, not better. I could cite instances in my constituency and I am sure that other Members have similar examples.
Part of the reason for the problem is that, although water companies can disconnect from the connected drains, they cannot redirect them into correct sewers; only local authorities have the power to do that. If, for any reason, the householder or business does not carry out the works, the local authority has powers to do so and to bill that individual or organisation for the costs. New clause 13 seeks to grant water companies the same enforcement powers as those available to local authorities. They could then deal directly—they already deal with other aspects of the problem—with misconnections.
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This is not intended as a strike against the work of local authorities. Indeed, in the Greater London area—I suspect the situation is similar in other parts of the country—many local authorities are doing tremendous work. One London local authority—the borough of Ealing—has a 90% record on sorting out these problems and the majority of local authorities achieve greater than 50% of corrections within a reasonable time frame. My own local authority achieved 64%. I am not, therefore, having a go at local government, but one London borough—I will not name it—has achieved only 12% of corrections. Indeed, it has misconnections going back to 2005.
Local authorities are not incentivised or always resourced to give the priority necessary to misconnections. The situation is getting worse: local authorities are finding it
difficult, adjustments have to be made due to the austerity programme and this is one of the areas likely to be under considerable pressure.
There would be benefits from allowing water companies to carry out this sort of work. It should be more efficient if the same organisation did all the preparatory work and then carried it through. That should also mean that the work would be completed quicker and that it would cost less, which might incentivise some households and businesses to correct the problems they have created.
I commend new clause 13 on the simple basis that two bodies—the local authorities and the water companies—should have the opportunity to carry out the work. It may make a significant inroad into the problem. If there is confusion, the Department should play a co-ordinating role and bring local authorities and water companies together. There are real benefits to be achieved, including a significant environmental benefit. The lake that has been polluted in my constituency is a running sore. The same is happening to water courses and rivers up and down the country. We could really make a difference through this very simple procedural measure.
I ask the Minister in a positive spirit whether he has thought seriously about accepting the new clause. If there are good reasons for refusing to do so, I would accept them, but it seems to me to be a relatively simple measure that could make a significant difference.