My Lords, in supporting my noble friend Lord Oxburgh I realise that we are swimming against an overwhelming political current here. However, it is sometimes the duty of Cross-Benchers to point out the political follies of some of the main parties in this House. It is clear to me from having spoken to many Members of this House—including some very important Members, many of whom are here today—that on a personal vote this amendment, or something like it, would sail through the House. To put it bluntly, a lack of imagination at the other end of the Palace is preventing this happening. One might even say it was a lack of leadership. I say “lack of imagination” because it is quite easy to devise a tariff system or to further enhance or better promote WaterSure or some of the other systems so that large households on low budgets, for example, can continue to pay as little as they do for their water at the moment, or even less.
It has been my ambition throughout the passage of the Bill to ensure that water is valued more by all parties: government; businesses, including energy, which are great water users; farmers; and, above all, domestic consumers. Having read the Committee stage—I apologise that I was not in Committee when this was discussed—I know that it has already been said that no one will value it unless we measure it. That includes those who might be getting assistance. Everyone would value water more if they measured it. What seems strange is that that is the overwhelming view not only of Members of this House but of environmentalists and of most customers, when they are asked—you have only to read the Walker report to see that.
It is also the view of water companies that we should work towards 100% metering. Your Lordships might think that slightly counterintuitive because, if customers value their water more, surely they will buy less. However, water companies know that the costs and delays in providing ever-expanding infrastructure and water supplies to cater for an ever-expanding demand would cripple their balance sheets. In January, some of us heard that a mere extension of a reservoir in Essex took 20 years to achieve: 10 years to prove the case and 10 years to go through planning. How much longer would it take for the many new reservoirs
required to cater for this system of unlimited demand? There is no doubt that a reduction in demand by around 15%, which is often cited as what can be achieved by universal metering, would be the equivalent of several new reservoirs. Metering is therefore so much quicker and cheaper, and infinitely better for the environment.
I want to tell your Lordships a small parable from India. In India, water was considered to be a commodity that was given by God and therefore should be free to all people. Because no one was paying for it or valuing it, the investment in infrastructure by the state and the private sector was therefore negligible. It was even worse than our water industry was before privatisation. So as a result of this paucity of investment, communities in both cities and rural villages often got water only for an hour per day, or sometimes two at the most. Anyone who has listened to any debates on overseas development in this House will know that poor sanitation caused by lack of water is the biggest killer of children in the world. Anyway, the Indian Government realised that everyone had to value water more and so changed the law about not charging for water. Almost immediately, a giant leap forward was taken in water supplies and sanitation across India, although it is not perfect and they have a long way to go yet.
Your Lordships may be thinking, “What on earth does this have to do with universal metering?”. However, as I said, it is a parable rather than a parallel because the Indian Government had learnt that you do not want to use water as a political or social tool to iron out the inequalities of life. Apart from anything else, water is one of the heaviest commodities on the planet. It is difficult and expensive to move around. It is best to put the proper value on water and then ensure through other measures that people have the wherewithal to pay for it; that is what I mean by a lack of imagination. Nearly all Western countries have universal metering and most of them, from what I can gather, have some sort of WaterSure scheme or an equivalent which relieve those who might get into financial difficulties. Universal metering is going to happen here eventually, as in the rest of the world, However, I am reminded of the German philosopher—I think it was Otto Mencke, although I cannot be dead certain—who said: “When the end of the world comes, I want to be in England because everything always happens 50 years later there”.
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