(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Section 7(4)(bb) of the Water Industry Act 1991 permits the appointment of a company seeking to replace the existing water or sewerage undertaker for particular premises where the conditions prescribed in section 7(5) of the Act are satisfied. Section 7(5)(a) prescribes two threshold conditions relating to the quantity of water supplied or likely to be supplied to the premises in any twelve month period. One threshold applies if the area of the relevant undertaker is wholly or mainly in Wales and another in all other cases. For all those other cases these Regulations amend section 7(5)(a)(ii) of the Act by lowering the threshold from 100 megalitres to 50 megalitres.
As a consequence of the amendment to section 7(5)(a) of the Act, these Regulations also amend section 158(9)(b), which relates to powers to lay pipes in streets.
No regulatory impact assessment has been prepared in respect of these Regulations. A regulatory impact assessment in respect of the Water Act 2003 was prepared and placed in the library of each House of Parliament during the passage of the Water Bill. This included an assessment of the lowering of the threshold to 50 megalitres. Copies can be obtained from Water Supply and Regulation Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE or from the Department’s website at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/water/legislation.