31

House of Commons

Thursday 7 January 2010

Public Bill Committee

New Amendments handed in are marked thus

Amendments which will comply with the required notice period at their next appearance

Flood and Water Management Bill

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Note

The Amendments have been arranged in accordance with the Resolution of the

Progamming Sub-Committee.

Resolution of the Programming Sub-Committee

The Programming Sub-Committee appointed by the Speaker in respect of the Bill

agreed the following Resolution at its meeting on Tuesday 5 January (Standing Order

No.  83C):

That—

(1)	the Committee shall (in addition to its first meeting at 9.00 am on Thursday

7 January) meet—

(a)	at 1.00 pm on Thursday 7 January;

(b)	at 10.30 am and 4.00 pm on Tuesday 12 January;

(c)	at 9.00 am and 1.00 pm on Thursday 14 January;

(d)	at 10.30 am and 4.00 pm on Tuesday 19 January;

(e)	at 9.00 am and 1.00 pm on Thursday 21 January;

(2)	the Committee shall hear oral evidence in accordance with the following

Table:

      TABLE

	Date	Time	Witness
	Thursday 7 January	Until no later than	Department for
		10.25 am	Environment, Food and
			Rural Affairs
	Thursday 7 January	Until no later than	Environment Agency;
		2.00 pm	Local Government
			Association; Local
			Government Flood
			Forum; Local
			Government Information
			Unit
	Thursday 7 January	Until no later than	National Farmers Union;
		3.00 pm	Association of Drainage
			Authorities; Association
			of British Insurers; Royal
			Society for the Protection
			of Birds; Woodland
			Trust; National Flood
			Forum
	Thursday 7 January	Until no later than	Water Services
		4.00 pm	Regulation Authority
			(“OFWAT”); Water UK;
			Consumer Council for
			Water

Public Bill Committee: 7 January 2010

32

Flood and Water Management Bill, continued

(3)	proceedings on consideration of the Bill in Committee shall be taken in the

following order: Clauses 1 to 30; Schedule 1; Clause 31; Schedule 2; Clause

32; Schedule 3; Clause 33; Schedule 4; Clause 34; Schedule 5; Clauses 35 to

46; new Clauses; new Schedules; remaining proceedings on the Bill;

(4)	the proceedings shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a

conclusion at 5.00 pm on Tuesday 21 January.

Huw Irranca-Davies has given notice of his intention to move a motion in the terms of

the Resolution of the Programming Sub-Committee (Standing Order No. 83C(9)).

Huw Irranca-Davies

That, at this and any subsequent meeting at which oral evidence is to be heard, the

Committee shall sit in private until the witnesses are admitted.

Huw Irranca-Davies

That, subject to the discretion of the Chairman, any written evidence received by the

Committee shall be reported to the House for publication.

Public Bill Committee: 7 January 2010

33

Flood and Water Management Bill, continued

Martin Horwood

Mr Roger Williams

3

Clause  3,  page  2,  line  33,  before ‘maintaining’ insert ‘re-instating’.

Miss Anne McIntosh

Angela Watkinson

7

Clause  3,  page  3,  line  2,  after ‘information’, insert ‘to all interested parties’.

Miss Anne McIntosh

Angela Watkinson

8

Clause  6,  page  4,  line  33,  at end insert—

‘(g)	any land owners with a relevant interest.’.

Martin Horwood

Mr Roger Williams

1

Clause  7,  page  5,  line  12,  leave out ‘objectives’ and insert ‘landscape scale

objectives, including how the strategy will protect biodiversity, semi-natural habitats and

encourage native woodland creation.’.

Miss Anne McIntosh

Angela Watkinson

9

Clause  7,  page  5,  line  31,  leave out subsection (9) and insert—

‘(9)	An approved strategy or guidance under this section may not be made unless a

draft has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of

Parliament.’.

Martin Horwood

Mr Roger Williams

2

Clause  8,  page  6,  line  9,  leave out ‘objectives’ and insert ‘landscape scale

objectives, including how the strategy will protect biodiversity, semi-natural habitats and

encourage native woodland creation.’.

Public Bill Committee: 7 January 2010

34

Flood and Water Management Bill, continued

Miss Anne McIntosh

Angela Watkinson

10

Clause  9,  page  6,  line  37,  after ‘the’, insert ‘revised’.

Miss Anne McIntosh

Angela Watkinson

12

Clause  9,  page  7,  line  7,  at end insert—

‘(c)	water companies.’.

Angela Watkinson

Miss Anne McIntosh

23

Clause  9,  page  7,  line  7,  at end insert—

‘(c)	the relevant sewerage undertaker(s).’.

Angela Watkinson

Miss Anne McIntosh

24

Clause  10,  page  8,  line  5,  at end insert—

‘(c)	the relevant sewerage undertaker(s).’.

Miss Anne McIntosh

Angela Watkinson

11

Clause  11,  page  8,  line  31,  at end insert—

‘(c)	be consulted on all major new developments and their waste water

capacity’.

Miss Anne McIntosh

Angela Watkinson

13

Clause  13,  page  9,  line  35,  leave out ‘may’ and insert ‘must’.

Miss Anne McIntosh

Angela Watkinson

14

Clause  14,  page  10,  line  35,  at end insert—

Public Bill Committee: 7 January 2010

35

Flood and Water Management Bill, continued

‘(c)	subject to any reasonable confidentiality restrictions.’.

Miss Anne McIntosh

Angela Watkinson

15

Clause  15,  page  11,  line  26,  at end insert—

‘(9A)

Any instrument (regulation or order) under this section may not be made unless

a draft has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of

Parliament.’.

Miss Anne McIntosh

Angela Watkinson

17

Clause  18,  page  12,  line  25,  at end insert—

‘(5)	The Agency must also publish on a quarterly basis its programme of regular

maintenance work carried out on main water courses.’.

Miss Anne McIntosh

Nick Herbert

Angela Watkinson

26

Clause  21,  page  13,  line  21,  leave out subsection (1) and insert—

‘(1)	A lead local flood authority must establish and maintain a register, which in

particular, must include information, including mapping, on—

(a)	structures or features which, in the opinion of the authority, are likely to

have a significant effect on a flood risk in its area, and

(b)	Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems in its area.

(2)	A lead local flood authority must establish and maintain a record of information

in connection with any of the things specified in subsection (1), including

information about ownership and state of repair.’.

Angela Watkinson

Miss Anne McIntosh

25

Schedule  1,  page  32,  line  15,  at end insert—

‘(6)	Condition 5 is that a designating authority may only designate infrastructure if

this does not compromise its primary purpose.’.

Public Bill Committee: 7 January 2010

36

Flood and Water Management Bill, continued

Martin Horwood

Mr Roger Williams

4

Schedule  2,  page  39,  line  35,  after ‘of’, insert ‘re-instating’.

Martin Horwood

Mr Roger Williams

5

Schedule  2,  page  40,  line  44,  after ‘of’, insert ‘re-instating’.

Martin Horwood

Mr Roger Williams

6

Schedule  2,  page  46,  line  3,  after ‘of’, insert ‘re-instating’.

Miss Anne McIntosh

Angela Watkinson

18

Schedule  3,  page  48,  line  8,  leave out paragraph 2 and insert—

‘“Sustainable Urban Drainage System” means a drainage system which—

(a)	facilitates attenuation, settlement or treatment of surface water from two

or more premises (whether or not together with road water), and

(b)	includes one or more of the following:

(i)

inlet;

(ii)	outlet structures;

(iii)

swales;

(iv)	constructed wetlands;

(v)

ponds;

(vi)	filter trenches;

(vii)

attenuation tanks, and

(viii)

detention basins (together with any associated pipes and

equipment).’.

Miss Anne McIntosh

Angela Watkinson

19

Clause  35,  page  18,  line  1,  leave out subsection (2) and insert—

‘(2)	The regulators must allow a water undertaker or sewerage undertaker to

undertake an infrastructure project which is to be put out to tender in accordance

with the regulators.’.

Angela Watkinson

Miss Anne McIntosh

20

Clause  35,  page  18,  line  1,  leave out subsection (2) and insert—

Public Bill Committee: 7 January 2010

37

Flood and Water Management Bill, continued

‘(2)	The regulations may allow the Minister to prohibit a water undertaker or

sewerage undertaker from undertaking a specified infrastructure project which is

to be put out to tender in accordance with the regulations for a period of no more

than one year from the date of specification.’.

Angela Watkinson

Miss Anne McIntosh

21

Clause  35,  page  18,  line  6,  at end insert ‘and shall not prohibit the water or

sewerage undertaker from preparing its own plan in relation to a specified infrastructure

project.’.

Mr Roger Williams

Martin Horwood

27

Clause  36,  page  20,  line  42,  at end insert—

‘(8)	A water undertaker must exercise its powers under this section in conformity with

the relevant code of practice under section 76D.’.

Mr Roger Williams

Martin Horwood

28

Clause  36,  page  22,  line  42,  at end insert—

‘76D	Codes of practice

(1)	There shall be a code of practice for England and a code of practice for Wales,

issued by the Minister, about water undertakers’ exercise of their powers under

section 76.

(2)	Each code must, in particular, contain provision for the purpose of ensuring

that—

(a)	water undertakers exercise their powers under section 76 in a way that is

proportionate to what is sought to be achieved and that is fair as between

different users or groups of users of water,

(b)	variations in the exercise of powers under section 76 as between water

undertakers for neighbouring areas are kept to a minimum, and

(c)	persons affected by the exercise of a power conferred by that section

receive clear and timely information about its effect.

(3)	In subsection (2)—

(a)	the “proportionate” exercise of powers includes the introduction, or

consideration of introduction, of less restrictive measures (such as

restriction of hosepipe use to alternate days or to particular purposes)

unless and until the water undertaker is satisfied that more restrictive

measures are necessary, and

(b)	the “fair” exercise of powers includes their exercise in a way that reflects

the relative efficiency of different uses of water.

(4)	The Minister—

(a)	may vary or revoke a code, but

(b)	must ensure that a code has effect at all times when section 76 is in force,

and

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Revised 7 January 2010