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Water charges are held back to devolution date
Monday, 26 March 2007
And the restoration of the Assembly at that stage could secure a further deferment.
The NIO had earlier been signalling that the tap tax bills would be sent out if political agreement between the parties could not be reached.
But with Sinn Fein and the DUP meeting face-to-face at Stormont, senior sources said Prime Minister Tony Blair had signed up to the charges being put on hold. The option still exists of issuing them later in the year if devolution moves come unstuck.
Chancellor Gordon Brown made it clear last week, however, that the Assembly will still have to find the money to cover the costs of the tap tax deferment.
Other parts of the controversial water reform programme will take effect, however, whether or not bills are sent out. The overall running of the service will pass to a Government-owned company, Northern Ireland Water, in less than a week, from April 1.
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