Extending Opportunities for Competition in the Water Industry in England and Wales - Consultation Paper

Note: This consultation has now closed. A summary of responses, and an indication of what actions the Government intends to take following the consultation, will be published in due course. The following material has been left in place for reference/archive purposes.

This consultation paper sets out, and invites views on, the Government's proposed framework for extending opportunities for competition in the water industry in England and Wales. The paper will primarily be of interest to anyone involved in the water industry, and businesses that use large quantities of water.

This publication follows the announcement made on 19 March 2002 by the Minister for the Environment, Michael Meacher. It is also preceded by a previous consultation paper, published in April 2000 by the Department for the Environment, Transport and Regions - "Competition in the Water Industry in England and Wales".

The following parts of the document are available:

• Covering letter (with Distribution list) (Adobe Acrobat .PDF format, 25kb)
• Main consultation paper (Adobe Acrobat .PDF format, 270kb)
• Main consultation paper - including cover (otherwise as above) (Adobe Acrobat .PDF format, 800kb)

The 19 March 2002 announcement can be found in this News Release.

The consultation paper "Competition in the Water Industry in England and Wales" can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/consult/watercomp/index.htm

Responses are invited to the questions set out in the consultation paper, and to the proposals more generally. They should be sent to:

Mark Smethurst
Water Supply and Regulation Division
Defra
Zone 3G/21
Ashdown House
123 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 6DE

E-mail address: water.competition@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Responses should arrive no later than 1 October 2002

Responses to the consultation will be held in the Defra library. Responses may be made publicly available unless respondents request that their comments are treated as having been made "in confidence". If you wish your response to be regarded as "in confidence" please indicate this clearly.

Further copies of this consultation paper can be obtained by writing to or e-mailing Mark Smethurst (Defra) at the addresses shown above (or tel 020 7944 5334).