The Act
3.The largest element of the Act (Part 3) provides for the establishment of Scottish Water as the successor to the three water and sewerage authorities established by the Part II of Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (“the 1994 Act”). Many of the provisions in Part 3 of the Act are based on equivalent provisions in Part II of the 1994 Act. Provisions have also been included for Scottish Water to have a board structure that differs from that of the existing authorities and for Scottish Water to have a greater measure of commercial freedom than that enjoyed by the existing authorities.
4.The Act’s other elements provide for changes to the representation of the interests of water customers to take account of the establishment of Scottish Water (Part 1) and the creation of a Drinking Water Quality Regulator with powers in respect of Scottish Water and private water supplies (Part 2). As these provisions deal with the regulatory framework within which Scottish Water will operate, they precede those relating to the creation of Scottish Water.
5.The 1994 Act refers to the water authorities that it created as “the new water and sewerage authorities”. For ease of understanding, these notes refer to them as the “existing authorities”.