Water Industry Act 1991

97 Performance of sewerage undertaker’s functions by local authorities etc. E+W

(1) A relevant authority may, in accordance with any arrangements which it has entered into for the purpose with any sewerage undertaker, carry out sewerage functions on that undertaker’s behalf in relation to such area comprising the whole or any part of that authority’s relevant area, together (where that authority are a local authority or an urban development corporation and the arrangements so provide) with parts of any adjacent relevant areas of other relevant authorities, as may be specified in the arrangements.

(2) Arrangements entered into for the purposes of this section may contain any such provision as may be agreed between the relevant authority and the sewerage undertaker but shall not affect the availability to any person, other than the relevant authority, of any remedy against the undertaker in respect of the carrying out of the undertaker’s sewerage functions or of any failure to carry them out.

(3) It is hereby declared that, if arrangements entered into for the purposes of this section so provide, a relevant authority shall be entitled to exercise on behalf of a sewerage undertaker any power which by or under any enactment is exercisable by the undertaker for the purposes of, or in connection with, the carrying out of the undertaker’s sewerage functions.

(4) Where arrangements entered into for the purposes of this section provide for a local authority to carry out the sewerage functions of a sewerage undertaker on the undertaker’s behalf, section 101 of the M1 Local Government Act 1972 (delegation of functions), so far as it relates to the carrying out of functions by a committee, sub-committee or officer of a local authority, shall have effect in relation to those sewerage functions only in so far as the arrangements do not otherwise provide.

[F1 (4A) Where arrangements entered into for the purposes of this section provide for a local authority which are operating executive arrangements to carry out the sewerage functions of a sewerage undertaker on that undertaker’s behalf—

(a) those sewerage functions shall be treated as functions of the authority for the purposes of section 13 of the Local Government Act 2000; and

(b) if or to the extent that those sewerage functions are the responsibility of the executive of that authority—

(i) subsection (4) above shall not apply; and

(ii) sections 14 to 16 of the Local Government Act 2000 and any regulations made under sections 17 to 20 of that Act shall apply in relation to those sewerage functions only in so far as the arrangements do not provide otherwise.]

(5) In this section—

[F2 “executive” and “executive arrangements” have the same meaning as in Part II of the Local Government Act 2000;]

• “new town” has the same meaning as in the M2 New Towns Act 1981;

• “relevant area”—

(a)

in relation to a local authority, means the area of the authority and the whole of any new town or urban development area any part of which is situated within the area of the authority;

(b)

in relation to the Commission for the New Towns, means any new town;

(c)

in relation to the development corporation for any new town, means that new town; [F3 and]

(d)

F4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(e)

in relation to any urban development corporation for any urban development area, means that area;

• “relevant authority” means any of the following, that is to say—

(a)

a local authority;

(b)

the Commission for the New Towns, [F5 or a development corporation for a new town];

(c)

the urban development corporation for any urban development area;

• “sewerage functions”, in relation to a sewerage undertaker, means any of the functions of the undertaker by virtue of its appointment under Chapter I of Part II of this Act as a sewerage undertaker, other than its functions relating to sewage disposal and its functions by virtue of Chapter III of this Part;

• “urban development area” means any area so designated under Part XVI of the M3 Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980.

F6 (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 97(4A) inserted (11.7.2001 for E. and 1.4 2002 for W.) by S.I. 2001/2237, arts. 2, 27;S.I 2002/808, {art. 26(a)}

F2 S. 97(5): definitions of "executive and executive arrangements" inserted (11.7.2001 for E. and 1. 4. 2002 for W. ) by S.I. 2001/2237, arts. 2, 27: S.I. 2002/808, art. 26(b)

F3 S. 97(5): word in para. (c) in definition of “relevant area” inserted (1.10.1998) by 1998 c. 38, s. 129(2), Sch. 15 para. 17(a) (with ss. 137(1), 139(2), 143(2)); S.I. 1998/2244, art. 4

F4 S. 97(5): para. (d) in definition of “relevant area” repealed (1.10.1998) by 1998 c. 38, s. 152, Sch. 18 Pt. IV (with ss. 137(1), 139(2), 143(2)); S.I. 1998/2244, art. 4

F5 S. 97(5): words in para. (b) in definition of “relevant authority” substituted (1.10.1998) by 1998 c. 38, s. 129(2), Sch. 15 para. 17(b) (with ss. 137(1), 139(2), 143(2)); S.I. 1998/2244, art. 4

F6 S. 97(6) repealed (19.11.1998) by 1998 c. 43, s. 1(1), Sch. 1 Pt. X, Group 3

Marginal Citations

M1 1972 c. 70.

M2 1981 c. 64.

M3 1980 c. 65.