ACCESS TO SAFE WATER

Early day motion 556, tabled 22 January 2003 by Baroness Tonge (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 67 members.

That this House commends the United Nations for designating 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater (www.wateryear2003.org); recognises the central importance of water resources to the planet's future; notes that 1.1 billion people lack access to safe water; regrets that some 6,000 children die every day from diseases associated with unsafe water and poor sanitation and hygiene; and calls upon this Government to pursue the commitments it made at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 and reaffirmed at the Johannesburg Summit in 2002 to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.

Signatures by party: Labour 34, Liberal Democrat 22, Conservative 4, Labour/Co-operative 3, Plaid Cymru 3, UUP 1.