To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the cost at current prices to each water authority in England to bring the bathing beaches that fail to meet the standards laid down in the European Community bathing water directive (76/160/EEC) into conformity.

Water authorities are spending about £100 million a year on schemes to improve the quality of bathing waters and this rate of spending is likely to increase. However, detailed proposals for schemes to improve bathing waters are still being formulated and it is too soon to estimate the total spending required by each authority to meet EC bathing water quality standards.