The Draft Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2005 and Proposals for a Private Water Supplies Grant Scheme

The Draft Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2005 and Proposals for a Private Water Supplies Grant Scheme - A Consultation

The Draft Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2005 and Proposals for a Private Water Supplies Grant Scheme: A Consultation

Dear Sir / Madam

CONSULTATION PAPER: "THE DRAFT PRIVATE WATER SUPPLIES (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2005" AND PROPOSALS FOR A PRIVATE WATER SUPPLIES GRANT SCHEME

I am writing to seek your comments on the enclosed draft Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations in implement of Council Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption. The consultation also seeks comments on proposals for a Grant Scheme to assist the users of private supplies not connected to the public system to bring those supplies up to modern standards.

Background

This consultation on the detailed implementation of Council Directive 98/83/EC, known as the Drinking Water Directive, follows an earlier consultation in November 2001 on the future direction of the regulation of private water supplies in Scotland. That consultation received a positive response, with general support for the proposed improvements to the regulatory framework for private water supplies in Scotland.

In summary, the Drinking Water Directive establishes a framework for action across the European Union on the quality of water intended for human consumption. It represents a fundamental review of the previous Drinking Water Directive (80/778/EEC), to take account of advances in medical, scientific and technological understanding of matters likely to affect drinking water quality.

The Executive has already implemented the Drinking Water Directive in respect of the public water supply in Scotland, through 'The Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 2001' (SSI No. 207). The draft Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2005 make domestic provision to transpose the Drinking Water Directive into domestic regulation in respect of private water supplies.

Responding to this consultation paper

We are inviting written responses to this consultation paper by 17 ^th June 2005. Please send your response together with your Respondent Information Form to:

pws.responses@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

PWS Consultation
Water Division
Scottish Executive
Mail Point 9
Area 1-H North
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ

If you have any queries contact David Williamson on 0131-244-5097.

We would be grateful if you would use the consultation questionnaire attached to this letter or could clearly indicate in your response which questions or parts of the consultation paper you are responding to as this will aid our analysis of the responses received.

Handling your response

We need to know how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are happy for your response to be made public. Please complete and return the Respondent Information Form which is attached to this letter as this will ensure that we treat your response appropriately. If you ask for your response not to be published we will regard it as confidential, and we will treat it accordingly.

All respondents should be aware that the Scottish Executive is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have to consider any request made to it under the Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation exercise.

Next steps in the process

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public (see the attached Respondent Information Form), these will be made available to the public in the Scottish Executive Library. We will check all responses where agreement to publish has been given for any potentially defamatory material before logging them in the library. You can make arrangements to view responses by contacting the SE Library on 0131 244 4565. Responses can be copied and sent to you, but a charge may be made for this service.

What happens next ?

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us finalise the draft Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2005 and the Grant Scheme. We aim to issue a report on this consultation process by summer 2005 with a view to laying the Regulations before the Scottish Parliament in autumn 2005.

Comments and complaints

If you have any comments about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to:

Name: David Williamson

Address: Water Division
Scottish Executive
Mail Point 9
Area 1-H North
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ

E-mail: david.williamson@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Yours faithfully

David Williamson
Water Division

THE SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE CONSULTATION PROCESS

Consultation is an essential and important aspect of Scottish Executive working methods. Given the wide-ranging areas of work of the Scottish Executive, there are many varied types of consultation. However, in general, Scottish Executive consultation exercises aim to provide opportunities for all those who wish to express their opinions on a proposed area of work to do so in ways which will inform and enhance that work.

The Scottish Executive encourages consultation that is thorough, effective and appropriate to the issue under consideration and the nature of the target audience. Consultation exercises take account of a wide range of factors, and no two exercises are likely to be the same.

Typically Scottish Executive consultations involve a written paper inviting answers to specific questions or more general views about the material presented. Written papers are distributed to organisations and individuals with an interest in the issue, and they are also placed on the Scottish Executive web site enabling a wider audience to access the paper and submit their responses Consultation exercises may also involve seeking views in a number of different ways, such as through public meetings, focus groups or questionnaire exercises. Copies of all the written responses received to a consultation exercise (except those where the individual or organisation requested confidentiality) are placed in the Scottish Executive library at Saughton House, Edinburgh (K Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD, telephone 0131 244 4565).

The views and suggestions detailed in consultation responses are analysed and used as part of the decision making process, along with a range of other available information and evidence. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may:

indicate the need for policy development or review
inform the development of a particular policy
help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals
be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented

Final decisions on the issues under consideration will also take account of a range of other factors, including other available information and research evidence.

While details of particular circumstances described in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body.

This consultation, and all other Scottish Executive consultation exercises, can be viewed online on the consultation web pages of the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is.

The Scottish Executive now has an email alert system for consultations ( SEconsult: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/seconsult.aspx). This system allows stakeholder individuals and organisations to register and receive a weekly email containing details of all new consultations (including web links). SEconsult complements, but in no way replaces, SE distribution lists, and is designed to allow stakeholders to keep up to date with all SE consultation activity, and therefore be alerted at the earliest opportunity to those of most interest. We would encourage you to register.

Response Form