This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Water Bill costs and benefits
31/07/2002
The results of research commissioned by the Executive on
the possible costs and benefits that might arise as a
result of its proposals in the recent Water Environment and
Water Services (Scotland) Bill were published on the
Executive's web site today. The research indicates that the
Bill may entail compliance costs for business and the
private sector of up to £840 million between now and 2040.
However, the researchers found that the possible benefits
of measures taken under the Bill could be valued at around
£1.5 billion over the same period.
The Bill was introduced to the Parliament on 18 June and
is available through the Scottish Parliament website. The
Executive committed itself to publishing these research
results in the policy and financial memoranda that
accompany the Bill. The research was conducted by WRc plc,
in association with the Universities of Dundee and Glasgow.
The researchers were only able to make provisional, initial
estimates of the possible costs and benefits that might
arise from the new legislation. This is because the costs
and benefits will, primarily, be driven by the content of
the river basin management plans provided for in the Bill
and by secondary legislation under the Bill rather than
being driven directly by the Bill provisions. The first
river basin management plans will not be finalised until
2009. The Bill itself, contains a number of measures to
minimise the costs that might be entailed from river basin
management plans. The Executive will refine and update the
initial analyses in this report as it develops the
secondary legislation under the Bill and its policy on
river basin management planning in Scotland.