asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he proposes to make any changes to the Welsh water authority's external financing limit and his other cash limits for 1984–85.

The Welsh water authority estimates that it will exceed the 1984–85 external financing limit of £19·6 million by about £3 million. This has arisen because of the additional costs incurred in last year's drought and severance payments following the major reorganisation undertaken by the authority in the autumn of 1984 and despite the authority achieving considerable offsetting savings in revenue and capital expenditure. In these exceptional circumstances I have increased the water authority's external financing limit for 1984–85 by £3 million from £19·6 million to £22·6 million. Offsetting savings have been found from the cash limit on Class XVI, 1, which has been reduced by £3 million from £741,490,000 to £738,490,000.