 There had been calls for a more structured approach to planning in 1869, when the Duke of Richmond had chaired the Royal Commission on Water Supply, and there were further calls in 1920, when the Board of Trade Water Power Resources Committee advocated a Water Commission for England and Wales, but nothing materialised.A little progress was made in 1924, when Regional Advisory Water Committees were set up, as a joint venture between the Ministry of Health and existing statutory suppliers.Their function was to co-ordinate schemes for water supply, which might involve more than one supplier.