# The Water Supply and Sewerage Services (Customer Service Standards) (Amendment) Regulations 2017, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
The Water Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”) introduced a number of measures to reform the competitive markets in the water sector in England and Wales including reforming the water supply licensing regime and the introduction of a sewerage licensing scheme. It also provides the opportunity for undertakers to exit the non-household market, meaning they would not be required to provide retail water and/or sewerage services to their non-household customer base, but will retain their wholesale functions.
Sections 38 and 39 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (“the Act”) authorise the Secretary of State to make regulations by statutory instrument setting out service standards that must be met by water undertakers and sections 95 and 96 of the Act make similar provision in relation to sewerage undertakers. Sections 38ZA and 39ZA, and sections 95ZA and 96ZA, of the Act (inserted by the 2014 Act) make similar provision in relation to water supply licensees and sewerage licensees respectively. The regulations may provide for payments to be made to customers for failure to meet the prescribed standards.
These Regulations amend the Water Supply and Sewerage Services (Customer Service Standards) Regulations 2008 (“the 2008 Regulations”) to apply the service standards to water supply licensees and sewerage licensees operating in England. These Regulations retain in Part 2 the existing provisions in relation to water and sewerage undertakers whose areas are wholly or mainly in Wales and insert a new Part 3 that applies to water and sewerage undertakers whose areas are wholly or mainly in England and water supply licensees who supply water, and sewerage licensees who provide sewerage services, under a retail authorisation. The service standards set out in Part 3 replicate the current service standards which will remain in Part 2, modified to reflect the division of responsibilities between providers of retail services and wholesalers.
Responsibility for making payments to customers for failure to meet the prescribed standards will lie with English service providers. English service providers are defined in new regulation 17A of the 2008 Regulations (inserted by regulation 7 of these Regulations) to cover English licensees and undertakers providing retail services and English undertakers acting as wholesalers where a licensee is supplying water or providing sewerage services to their own premises or the premises of an associated person, known as “self-supply”. Where a failure to meet the prescribed standard was the responsibility of an English undertaker who is not an English service provider provision is made in new regulation 17K of the 2008 Regulations for the English undertaker to repay to the English service provider the amount required to be paid to the customer.
New regulation 17P makes provision for review of Part 3 of the Regulations by the Government.
No impact assessment has been prepared in respect of these Regulations. Impact assessments were prepared in respect of the Water Act 2014 and copies can be obtained from the Water Services Team, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Area 3D, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR. These impact assessments are published alongside the Water Act 2014 at www.legislation.gov.uk.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/246/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/water-supply-and-sewerage-services-customer-service-standards-amendment-regulations-2017/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.