This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Draft Water Services Bill
13/10/2003
Proposals for amending the regulatory framework for
water and sewerage services in Scotland were published
today for consultation.
Its main provisions are aimed at:
- Protecting public health and the environment by
prohibiting common carriage on the public networks
- Safeguarding the Executive's social objectives by
prohibiting anyone other than Scottish Water from
serving household customers
- Establishing a licensing regime to regulate the
provision of retail services to non-household
customers
Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment and Rural
Development, said:
"Scottish Water has a key role to play in contributing
to the Executive's public health, environment protection
and social policy objectives.
"This draft Bill makes clear our determination to
safeguard these objectives in a more competitive commercial
environment. It confirms, in the interests of public health
and of protecting the environment, that only Scottish Water
can add drinking water to the public mains and draw
wastewater from the public sewers.
"It confirms too that only Scottish Water can supply
households with retail services. This will ensure that
domestic water charges can continue to reflect in broad
terms customers' ability to pay by retaining the link
between domestic charges and the banding and discount
arrangements of the Council Tax system.
"The proposed licensing regime will introduce choice in
the provision of retail services to business customers,
while ensuring that these customers continue to pay a fair
share of the costs of the public networks.
"The regulatory framework outlined in the draft Bill
will safeguard the Executive's objectives for the water
industry as competition in the industry develops.
"By publishing this draft Bill for consultation, I would
encourage all interested parties and the general public to
take the opportunity to comment on these proposals for
protecting Scotland's public water services."
The Executive announced in February its plans to protect
public water and sewerage services in a more competitive
environment.
The Competition Act 1998 opens up the prospect of
competition on the public water and sewerage networks that
Scottish Water owns and operates.
This could take two forms:
- Common carriage - where a third party provides
water and sewerage services to customers on the public
networks by adding drinking water to Scottish Water's
mains, or drawing wastewater from Scottish Water's
sewers
- Retail - where responsibility for delivering water
and sewerage rests with Scottish Water, but where
services such as meter reading, customer billing and
handling customer complaints are provided by third
parties
The draft Bill addresses both possibilities through its
prohibitions on common carriage and household competition
and its licensing regime.
The deadline for comments on the draft Bill is
Friday January 9, 2004.
Subject to the outcome of the consultation it is planned
to introduce the Water Services (Scotland) Bill during
2004.
Copies of the draft Bill can be obtained from:
Scottish Executive
Environment and Rural Affairs Department
Water Services Unit
Area 1-H
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh EH6 6QQ
Tel. 0131-244-0275