Water Metering Mr. Hague To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the results of the national water metering trials to be available; and if he will make a statement. Mr. Trippier The second interim report on the national metering trials has been published by the water industry today and I have placed a copy in the Library.Use of rateable values as a basis for water charges ceases to be lawful from April 2000. Water companies will have to decide what alternative method of charging to adopt for the future; and metering—which is being adopted for many new properties, which do not have a rateable value—is one of the options being considered. Because it relates the size of a customer's bill to the------------------------------------------------ | | ------------------------------------------------ |Rent Allowance Grant | ------------------------------------------------ |Mandatory Student Awards Grant | ------------------------------------------------ |Community Charge Benefit Grant | ------------------------------------------------ |In-Service Teacher Training | ------------------------------------------------ |Education Support | ------------------------------------------------ |Training Agency (TVEI) | ------------------------------------------------ |Work Related Further Education | ------------------------------------------------ |Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council | ------------------------------------------------ |Social Services Training | ------------------------------------------------ |Aids and HIV | ------------------------------------------------ |Magistrates' Courts | ------------------------------------------------ |Probation | ------------------------------------------------ |Civil Defence | ------------------------------------------------ |Commonwealth Immigrants | ------------------------------------------------ |Housing Benefit Administration | ------------------------------------------------ |Home Insulation Grant | ------------------------------------------------ |Improvement Grants and Area Improvement Grants| ------------------------------------------------ |Urban Programme | ------------------------------------------------ |Expenses of Rent Officers | ------------------------------------------------ |Careers Service Strengthening | ------------------------------------------------ |Sheltered Employment | ------------------------------------------------ |European Community Grants | ------------------------------------------------ |Transitional Relief Grant | ------------------------------------------------ |Transitional Relief Preparatory Costs Grant | ------------------------------------------------ |Transitional Relief Administration Costs Grant| ------------------------------------------------ |Other | ------------------------------------------------ |Total | ------------------------------------------------