The accounts of a new water and sewerage authority shall be audited by auditors appointed for each financial year by the Secretary of State.

A person shall not be eligible for appointment for the purposes of subsection (1) above unless he is eligible for appointment as a company auditor under section 25 of the [1989 c. 40.] Companies Act 1989.

A copy of any accounts of an authority which are audited under subsection (1) above and of the report made on those accounts by the auditors shall be sent to the Secretary of State as soon as reasonably practicable after the report is received by the authority; and the Secretary of State shall lay a copy of any accounts or report sent to him under this subsection before Parliament.

In this section “accounts”, in relation to an authority, includes any statement under section 87 of this Act.