The Rural Water Supplies and Sewerage Act 1944 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 6. c. 26) was an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, introduced by the

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

. It empowered the government to make grants for the purpose of expanding rural

water supplies Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

, up to the sum of £15 million in England and Wales and £6,375,000 in Scotland – this sum was extended to £20 million for Scotland by the Water (Scotland) Act 1949.

Implementation

By March 1950 the Government had granted £9,839,000 in England and Wales, and £6,619,000 in Scotland, with £3,700,000 of the latter sum being spent in the Highlands; applications for the remainder of the grants were in process. The limiting factor on expenditure had been the availability of labour and materials, not problems with the provision of finance. Prior to 1944, while most households in urban areas of England and Wales had a piped water supply, the situation in rural areas was that only 70 per cent had this service. As a result of the provisions of the Act, this had increased to 80 per cent by 1951. On 18 November 1947,

Colin Thornton-Kemsley Sir Colin Norman Thornton-Kemsley, (2 September 1903 – 17 July 1977) was a Conservative and National Liberal politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kincardine and Western Aberdeenshire from 1939 to 1950, ...

, the MP for Kincardine and Western Aberdeenshire, asked questions in the House of Commons of Arthur Woodburn, the

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

, about the practical outworkings of the Act, as by that time applications for grants in Scotland exceeded the money available by around £25 million. Woodburn responded that he had previously mentioned the possibility of extending the sum available, but that it would require new legislation to do so. The outworkings of the Act were again raised by Major Simon Ramsay, MP for

Forfarshire Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agri ...

, on 10 May 1949, when he requested information about how many schemes had benefitted from the Act in Scotland. Woodburn replied that 70 water supply schemes had been started, of which 36 were already completed, and that 68 drainage schemes has been started, of which 44 were complete. The Act was repealed on 1 April 1996 as a result of the passing of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.

Bibliography

References

*''Facts and Figures for Socialists, 1951''. Labour Party Research Department, London, 1950 United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1944 {{UK-statute-stub