Water charges will enable £300m investment in services

When fully introduced, water charges will enable the Government to invest over £300 million more in public services every year.

This was the message from Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Angela Smith who was speaking following yesterday's meeting between union members and Prime Minister Tony Blair in Downing Street.

A delegation from the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) met with Mr Blair to argue their case against water charges in the province.

They argued that such measures could result in a loss of a many as 600 jobs if current proposals are introduced.

However, Mrs Smith today said that local water charges would give enough money and resources to provide better schools, roads, hospitals as well as a solution to the backlog of investment in water and sewerage services.

The Minister said: “We need to invest heavily in our water and sewerage services - £3 billion over the next 20 years. Investment is starting now, before water charges are introduced. By 2005-06 the Water Service budget will have risen to £313 million, a 37% increase since 2002-03.

“We cannot sustain this planned increase in water and sewerage investment over the long term without starving other services. We face a stark choice – without charges the people of Northern Ireland will be condemned to second class public services.

“Charges will also enable us to have an ongoing revenue stream so that water does not have to compete for investment with other public services, which could lead to similar problems again in the future.”

Commenting on the view that people in Northern Ireland were already paying for their water through the regional rate, the Minister argued that the rate is used to fund all public services and that other funding had to come from general taxation.

She said: “Whatever the view about the funding of water, people in Northern Ireland pay much less than elsewhere in the UK towards public services. We are not asking people to pay if they cannot afford it - nor are we asking people in Northern Ireland to pay more than those in similar circumstances elsewhere.

“The fact is that households here are only paying around £473 on average each year in regional and district rates compared to Scotland where people pay over £1300 per year in Council Tax and water charges.

“This is an essential part of the normalisation of Northern Ireland’s financial system which has been out of step with the rest of the United Kingdom for some time. We have the highest level of public spending and the lowest level of local revenues. We cannot realistically ask taxpayers elsewhere to pay more until we have addressed this disparity.”

The Minister also claimed that in order to make water charges affordable in Northern Ireland, efficiencies would have to be made in the Water Service. Increased investment in new treatment works and advanced technology would lead to greater efficiency and the need for a smaller workforce, she added.

Angela Smith launched the consultation paper, 'The Reform of Water and Sewerage Services in Northern Ireland' on 11 March.

The paper seeks views on a number of issues including which domestic water and sewerage charges should be set; possible business models for a reformed Water Service; and how best to protect the consumer interest.

(MB)