Commentary on provisions of the Act Section 12: Drinking Water Inspectorate: functions and fees
This provision relates to the functions of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the agency responsible for regulating the safety of public drinking water supplies in England and Wales. The Drinking Water Inspectorate’s functions include monitoring and auditing water suppliers responsible for providing drinking water to ensure that regulatory requirements are adhered to, investigating possible breaches of those standards, and providing advice to the public and government on drinking water safety.
	The section amends section 86(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991 ("the 1991 Act") to extend the purposes for which inspectors of water quality may be appointed to include functions related to national security directions under section 208 of the 1991 Act.
	This section also makes amendments to section 86ZA (charging of fees by Drinking Water Inspectorate) to provide greater flexibility in how fees are charged for regulatory work. This means the Drinking Water Inspectorate could charge fees when individual functions are completed or charge a fee for all functions completed in a particular period of time.