MSP Challenges Private Water Supply Rulings
TO PRESS the concerns of constituents about new private water supply regulations, MSP John Swinney attended a meeting of the Environment and Rural Development Committee of the Scottish Parliament on 17 May.
The Committee was considering new EU Regulations to improve the safety and quality of private water supplies and was questioning Rural Affairs Minister, Rhona Brankin. Mr Swinney used his right as a Member of the Scottish Parliament to attend a Committee of which he is not a member to press the concerns of his constituents. |
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Inspection Costs
He asked the Minister about concerns over the frequency of inspections of private water supplies for those who had a good track record in maintaining these supplies. The MSP expressed the concern that frequent inspections at a maximum inspection cost of £630 could be used as an excuse by local authorities to generate revenue.
The Minister said there would be no need for repeated inspections if the private water supplied were maintained effectively and that the cost of inspection need not be anything like the maximum of £630.
Grant Levels
Mr Swinney also questioned the Minister about the level of grant being made available to upgrade private water supplies. He felt that a maximum grant of £800 would be a small proportion of some of the cost involved. The Minister said £800 would cover the cost of the essential upgrade of supplies and was felt to be reasonable by the Executive.
Speaking afterwards the MSP said: "There is a difficult balancing act to be struck between ensuring we have good quality private water supplies and putting a huge burden on people - particularly tourism operators - over this issue.
"I am concerned that well intentioned regulations that are designed to improve public safety might end up being used far too frequently by Councils to inspect private water supplies. I will be monitoring the impact of these regulations at local level and will raise any further concerns with Ministers."
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