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Flood and Water Management Bill

I do not think I need to write to the hon. Gentleman, because I can happily confirm that one of the prime aims behind the Bill is the clarification of responsibilities, both for the EA as the strategic national lead and for upper-tier or unitary local authorities, working hand in hand with internal drainage boards and those on the ground in lower-tier authorities, so that they can deliver local leadership and accountability on flood risk management. Those organisations have duties to work with each other and with all the other authorities—duties that are embedded as a prominent part of the Bill. Amendment 22 to clause 43, on concessionary schemes for surface water drainage charges for community groups, would require an undertaker's charges scheme to be overseen by Ofwat. The Water Industry Act 1991 already requires water and sewerage undertakers in England and Wales to submit their annual charges schemes to Ofwat for its approval, and that holds true regardless of whether they include a concessionary scheme for community groups. Including a provision in clause 43 stating that the charges scheme must be overseen by Ofwat would simply add ambiguity, as it is not exactly clear what Ofwat is being asked to oversee, or how that would differ from the power that Ofwat already has to approve undertakers' charges schemes. That said, I appreciate that hon. Members of all parties want to be confident that community groups will not face unaffordable water bills as a result of site area charging for surface water drainage. I also recognise that there is a clear role and responsibility for Ofwat in ensuring that that is the case. The issue will therefore be addressed in the Secretary of State's guidance to undertakers. Clause 43(6) empowers the Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers to issue guidance to undertakers, to which they would be required to have regard. A draft of that guidance, which will be subject to full public consultation, was made available in Committee. It set out in quite some detail the Government's thinking on issues such as the need for concessionary schemes, which groups should benefit and what counts as an affordable charge for community groups. I bring to hon. Members' attention paragraph 3.1 of the draft guidance, which states:""The Government is clear that it does not want to see community groups facing unaffordable increases in their water bills as a result ""of site area charging for surface water drainage. We expect undertakers to ensure that this is the case and Ofwat will ensure that undertakers have had regard to this guidance in its approval of individual charges schemes."" That makes clear the important role that Ofwat will have both in approving individual charges schemes, as it does now, and in policing the Government's guidance to ensure that community groups will not face unaffordable surface water drainage charges.