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1240/5(1861)
QUESTION TO BE ASKED OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICES COMMITTEE ON TUESDAY 13th MAY 2003,
BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER
Question
The President has indicated that the Committee intends to introduce a sewerage charge at an average level of £80 per household, and that this may rise, over time, to £300 per household.
Will the President outline to members how this charge will be structured and, in particular, how those least able to afford it will be protected from hardship?
Answer
The charge has been proposed to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the Sewage Treatment Works, the whole sewer network and the pumping stations. It includes an allocation for capital investment, to reconstruct and replace elements of the existing systems and to extend the foul sewer system. The total cost of these combined essential services and infrastructure varies between £10 million and £12 million per annum, depending on how much the capital allocation is, and this is based on the current programme of work, which is limited by the anticipated amount of capital approved each year by the States.
The charge to individual properties will be based on either the water consumption, for those properties on water meters, or the rateable value of the property, in the same way that water bills are assessed by the Jersey New Waterworks Company.
A professional billing agent will be appointed to collect the charges, and one of its responsibilities will be to ensure that the method of charging will be structured to provide a range of periodic payments. Details of this are being developed as part of the tendering process and subsequent development process. It is anticipated that cases of genuine hardship will be addressed through the low-income support mechanism.