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Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

My Lords, I apologise for my late arrival in the House—I was in attendance at the Northern Ireland Assembly. The noble Lord, Lord Trimble, said that there was an Executive-in-waiting in the Northern Ireland Assembly; as one who is a Member of that Assembly, I did not recognise that when I was there today. However, I find myself generally in agreement with many of the things he said on this issue. The order is a classic example of the Government doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. Any justification for them proceeding in the way they intend surely must have been removed as a result of the declaration by the High Court in Belfast last week. Apart from the substance of the order, we believe that there are several underlying reasons why the Government should not be proceeding in this manner. First, the Government lack a mandate in Northern Ireland for their proposals. It is clear from the positions taken by all the political parties and others in Northern Ireland that there is widespread opposition to the Government's proposals. Indeed, my own party, the DUP, won a mandate in the 2005 Westminster election on the basis of a manifesto commitment to oppose the Government's proposals for water charging. There is therefore no support in Northern Ireland for the Government's plans. Secondly, the order is not subject to sufficient parliamentary scrutiny. This is one of the most important issues affecting Northern Ireland to come before Parliament this Session. However, due to the process by which Northern Ireland legislation is dealt with at Westminster, the order will receive scant attention in Committee with no possibility of amendment. For a Bill with 308 clauses and 13 schedules, that is a constitutionally outrageous position. The pre-legislative consultation process does not make up for this inadequacy. Thirdly, decisions should be left until the return of devolution. Although there are significant accounting issues in relation to the question of whether water services in Northern Ireland should be self-financing, the existence of, or detail of, water charges should ultimately be a matter for the people of Northern Ireland to determine. There are clearly implications for spending in Northern Ireland of not proceeding with water charges, but these choices should not be made by people here. In addition to the general considerations set out above, there are a number of specific objections to the Government's proposals. First, government proposals do not take account of the contribution already made to the provision of water services. Although not specifically related to the detail of the order, no account has been taken of the fact that a contribution is already being made to the cost of water services through the regional rate. This proposal will inevitably increase the average water charge and will make the introduction of water charges more unacceptable than would otherwise have been the case. It is one thing to pay for water—it is quite another to pay for it twice. Secondly, the Government were disingenuous in relation to the justification for water charges. They sought to justify water charges on the basis that they were addressing the water framework directive, yet they then devised a system that did not even meet the requirements of the directive. Thirdly, the Government have used water charges as a mechanism to increase the level of local taxation in Northern Ireland. In reality, water charges have been used as a cover to massively increase the level of taxation in Northern Ireland. At the same time, there has been a significant increase in the regional rate and a new rating valuation system. While there may be justifications for a separate charging mechanism for water services, that does not necessarily mean that there need to be significant increases in the overall tax burden. Fourthly, the Government have reneged on proposals in relation to the reinvestment and reform initiative. As originally proposed, water charges were to be regarded as qualifying revenue when considering the capacity to avail of the borrowing power under the RRI. Since then, however, the Government have changed the rules and, as a result, there is no advantage, in borrowing terms, of water charges. When compared with the overall Northern Ireland budget, water charges make up a very small percentage of local spending. In essence, a significant additional burden on the householder of water charges makes very little difference to what can be done in spending terms. My party continues to be opposed to the privatisation of the water service in Northern Ireland and believes that any future change in the status of the water service should come about only in circumstances in which there was widespread support in Northern Ireland. It is totally unreasonable to expect householders to pay for roads drainage. This cost should be attributed elsewhere. The option of water-metering, with appropriate consideration being given to the infrastructure costs, should be available for all Northern Ireland consumers. We reject universal metering as being too costly and no metering as being too unfair. The capital value of a person’s home is too inaccurate as a proxy for ability to pay to be the only reliable method for assessing water charges. The argument that only the better off would opt for metering could be negated by setting the fixed-cost element at an appropriate level. Ultimately, the wider the availability of water-metering, the greater is the potential for encouraging conservation of water. While we welcome the option of water-metering being made available to certain groups under the Government’s proposals, it should not be limited to them. It is not clear that vulnerable groups will benefit from metering. Therefore, the metering alternative, as presently proposed, may prove to be an empty gesture. Northern Ireland has faced many greater challenges than other parts of the United Kingdom during the past three decades. I do not have to go into what those challenges have been. However, Northern Ireland is also less able to pay water charges than other parts of the United Kingdom. In these circumstances, the average water charge should be no higher than that in England and Wales, with a maximum fixed at this level. This would act as an appropriate balance between requiring Northern Ireland consumers to make a greater contribution towards the cost of water and not punishing Northern Ireland householders for a lack of government investment. The Government’s proposals to deal with vulnerable groups were one of the more welcome aspects of the overall package. However, such protections should continue to exist into the future and should not be limited to a particular time period. We oppose this legislation and urge your Lordships' House to do likewise.