How many (a) domestic and (b) business premises are supplied with water from (i) lead pipes within the building, (ii) lead pipes between th…

There is no accurate data on the number of properties that have internal lead pipes or lead pipes connecting the property to the public water supply. Similarly, the number of properties with copper pipes with lead solder joints is not known.The use of lead plumbing within buildings ceased in 1964 and the use of lead pipes to connect buildings to the public supply largely stopped around this time, although it is known to have carried on in some areas of Scotland until 1971. Based on these facts, a broad estimate on the extent of lead plumbing in domestic properties was contained in the 1994 annual report on Drinking Water Quality in Scotland. The 1994 report estimated that, at that time, around 589,000 domestic properties in Scotland still had lead plumbing.Lead solder joints in copper plumbing were legal until 1987, but the illegal use of lead solder joints in copper plumbing was recently discovered on a number of new housing developments across Scotland.