FOI 11-23: Funding Water and Wastewater Services Research Paper
Information Standards Freedom of Information Response
Our Ref: 11-23
15 May 2023
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”)
I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 28 April 2023 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In your request, you asked:
“The Committee for Infrastructure received a paper on the 11th October 2020 titled Funding Water and Wastewater Services.
However, unlike all other papers received by the committee during 2020, this paper does not appear to have been uploaded in PDF format for access or viewing on the assembly portal (link below).
Northern Ireland Assembly Research Papers 2020
The synopsis notes: Providing water and wastewater services is a capitally intensive undertaking that requires sustained levels of investment. In order to bring infrastructure to the required level and ensure compliance with the requirements of the European Water Framework Directive, most member states have introduced various types of user tariffs for water and waste services. In the context of continued deferral of water charges in Northern Ireland, this paper considers a number of issues - including the impact reliance on public funding is having on critical infrastructure investment in NI.
I would be grateful if a copy of this paper could be provided to me either by return or that it is made available for download on the Assembly portal.”
The Assembly Commission holds the information that you have requested and as outlined at Appendix A (separate). The attached paper shall also be made available on the Assembly website should you require it again.
The date previously specified on the Assembly’s website referencing this paper is 11 October 2020 however,the actual date of the paper is 6 March 2020. The Assembly Commission is satisfied that the attached paper at Appendix A is the correct paper and it has now been included on the Assembly website.
Appendix A
You have the right to request a formal review by the Assembly Commission and if you wish to do so, please write to me at the above address. If after such an internal review you are still unhappy with the response, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF which will undertake an independent review.
The Assembly Commission may publish details of your FOI request and its official response within the organisational disclosure log. The request will be completely anonymised and you will not be identified in any way. This is to meet the requirements as laid out by in the agreed publication scheme with the Information Commissioners’ Office.
Yours sincerely
INFORMATION STANDARDS
