- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 8 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3273 by Ross Finnie on 3 November 2003, whether the results of the benchmarking exercise of Scottish Water Solutions Ltd's projects against industry best practice will be made public.
Answer
As my answer to question S2W-3273indicated, this is an operational matter for the Chief Executive of ScottishWater and I have asked him to write to you about this matter.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 3 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was made aware of the range of potential increases arising out of new arrangements for water bills.
Answer
The Charges Scheme for2003-04 was agreed by Scottish Water and the Water Industry Commissioner withinthe revenue cap set by ministers. Only if there had not been agreement on the chargesscheme, and Scottish ministers had been called upon to decide on the annual schemeof charges, would the Executive have requested a detailed assessment. Generallythe impacts on individual customers are a matter for Scottish Water and theWater Industry Commissioner.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 3 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive by how much it expects non-domestic water and sewerage bills to decrease following the introduction of competition into the sector, as referred to in the draft Water Services (Scotland) Bill, and whether some bills to small businesses could increase as a result of competition.
Answer
Under the proposals outlinedin the Executive’s consultation on the draft Water Services (Scotland)Bill, non-household charges will reflect the services that retailers offer tonon-household customers and customers’ willingness to pay for these services.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 3 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering any further measures to ease the consequences of increases in water bills for business customers.
Answer
We await the outcome of thecurrent discussion between Scottish Water and the Water Industry Commissioneron the Scheme of Charges for 2004-05, which we expect to conclude in the nextmonth or so.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 3 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what provision has been identified to deal with flooding affecting Clydebank; whether a range of options have been identified for this provision, and when decisions are likely to be taken to commit any necessary resources.
Answer
It is for the relevant localauthority, in this case West Dunbartonshire Council, to determine whetherprovision is required to deal with flooding in its area. However, I am awarethat local authorities in the catchment of the river Clyde arepresently investigating flood risk from the river and options to address thatrisk. So far, no formal proposals for flood prevention schemes for the river Clyde, norfor Clydebank, have been submitted to the Executive.
Decisions on the provisionof financial resources to manage flood risk can only be taken once a statutoryflood prevention scheme has been confirmed by ministers.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 14 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any instances where Scottish Water has not complied with the requirements of European Council directives 71/304/EEC, 77/62/EEC, 92/50/EEC and 93/38/EEC (the Works, Supplies, Services and Utilities directives respectively) in relation to open advertising, conduct of prescribed tendering procedures and reporting of contract awards.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3321 on 5 November 2003.All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 12 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will assist low income households pay water bills when the Transitional Water and Waste Water Charges Scheme ends on 31 March 2004.
Answer
The current transitionalscheme was set up to provide additional assistance to enable low income householdsadjust to increased water and wastewater charges. The main source of assistanceremains the link between domestic charges and the banding and discountarrangements of the council tax system.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 12 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the range will be of any increases arising from new water pricing arrangements.
Answer
The revenue cap set by ministersfor 2004-05 allows for an increase in total revenue of 4.6%, followed by adecrease the following year. Under the Water Industry (Scotland)Act 2002, it is for Scottish Water and the Water Industry Commissioner to agreethe annual Charges Scheme, which details charges for individual groups of customerswithin this revenue cap.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 12 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce any measures to assist water customers affected by increases in water bills.
Answer
The transitional household reductionscheme was set up to help households adjust to increased charges. It will cometo an end in March 2004. Issues of affordability for domestic customers willcontinue to be addressed through the link to council tax band and associateddiscounts. There are no plans for any measures to assist business customers.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 12 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons were for not capping increases in water bills for business customers.
Answer
The Charges Scheme for2003-04 was agreed by Scottish Water and the Water Industry Commissioner withinthe revenue cap set by ministers. This scheme set the increases in charges todifferent groups of customers.
