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Government of Wales Bill

moved Amendment No. 107:"Page 83, line 12, leave out subsections (2) to (6) and insert—" ““(2) The Secretary of State shall make representations to the Assembly as to how the relevant function has the effect described in subsection (1). (3)   In considering whether or not to continue exercising that function, the Assembly shall have regard to— (a)   the representations made by the Secretary of State under subsection (2); and (b)   any adverse impact that would be had on Welsh water by the discontinuation of the relevant function.”” The noble Lord said: It is particularly unfortunate that such an important topic as water is being debated so late. I hope that we will have another chance later in the Bill. Clause 151(1) states that: ““This section applies where it appears to the Secretary of State that the exercise of a relevant function (or the failure to exercise a relevant function) in any particular case might have a serious adverse impact””— those are three important words— ““on—      (a) water resources in England,      (b) water supply in England, or      (c) the quality of water in England””. It seems extraordinary that, in a Bill about Wales, where water is such an important commodity, that there is no like description for water in Wales. That does not add up at all. Our amendment states: ““In considering whether or not to continue exercising that function, the Assembly shall have regard to-       (a) the representations made by the Secretary of State under subsection (2); and       (b) any adverse impact that would be had on Welsh water by the discontinuation of the relevant function””. We are here trying to achieve parity on water provided in, so far as I am concerned as a Welshman, our own country. That is, after all, only justice. I will try not to detain the Committee for long, but I remind it that the Welsh Assembly has a duty on sustainability. That is written into the original Wales Act 1978, in which we had a hand. There are two basic issues: the environmental sustainability and the needs of consumers in Wales—certainly so far as adverse impacts are concerned. There is also the question of river basin management as a whole. Indeed, three of us in the Chamber tonight were at the Hay festival of literature last week, where there were five contributions—starting with Al Gore—on climate change. It was an interesting week on that subject. At one presentation I went to, they predicted that, by 2050, rainfall in Hay, on the Welsh border, would be 60 per cent less than it is now. Indeed, in Wales as a whole last year, it was 70 per cent of the average. So there are concerns in Wales, as well as England, about the amount of water we will have in future. The important wording is ““adverse impact””, which should be the same for both Wales and England. As we know, the Science and Technology Committee has today reported on water management, and mentioned new reservoirs, and so on, which would provide more sources of water. These are clearly sensitive political issues in Wales, as we know from our history. We do not wish to see the proper use of Clause 151 as a last resort power conflicting with other legislation, or bringing about environmental damage to water catchments in Wales. As a note, Regulation 3(2) of the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2003, states that: ““The Secretary of State and the Assembly must exercise their relevant functions in relation to each river basin district so as best to secure that the requirements of the Directive for the achievement of its environmental objectives, and in particular programmes of measures, are coordinated for the whole of that district””. One can see how important that would be to a whole river system. Perhaps we will have another chance to debate this issue, but I am drawing the attention of the Chamber to its importance. I beg to move.