What plans it has to ensure that no lead piping is used in the supply of water in homes or business premises.

There are no lead water mains in Scotland and lead plumbing has not been used since the 1960's. Internal lead plumbing is confined to properties constructed before 1964 although the use of lead supply pipes (the underground pipes connecting properties to the water main in the street) continued until as late as 1971 in some parts of Scotland.The Scottish Executive has instructed the Scottish water authorities to undertake a survey of water supply zones across Scotland, to determine areas where there is likely to be non-compliance with the tighter lead standard being set by the EC from December 2003. As lead does not normally occur naturally in water, any areas of non-compliance detected are likely to be as a result of lead plumbing or lead supply pipes.To ensure compliance with the lead standard, the water authorities will be installing water treatment in areas identified as likely to fail to meet the new standard. In addition, where the water authorities identify the presence of lead plumbing in a particular property, they will advise the owner and/or occupier of remedial action that they can take. As part of their water mains renewal programmes, the water authorities are also replacing any lengths of lead supply pipe that are found to be in their ownership.