To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is its intended policy that care homes will pay water charges that are five times greater than the charges paid by their counterparts in England and Wales following the Court of Session decision in the case of Scottish Water v Clydecare Ltd .

I am not in a position to comment on the detail of charges to individual customers of Scottish Water. The Executive’s policy on water charges is that the revenue raised under a charges scheme for a particular year should not exceed the revenue cap specified by the Water Industry Commissioner for that year in his Strategic Review of Charges; that by no later than 2005-06 charges within a scheme should be harmonised on a geographical basis across Scotland, and that tariffs within schemes should be broadly cost-reflective. A series of discounts and reliefs are available to customers in specific circumstances. These are not specific to care homes.

I am unable to comment on the charges paid by an individual customer of Scottish Water. This is a matter for Scottish Water and the Water Industry Commissioner who are jointly responsible for agreeing the scheme of charges in any particular year.