Records of the Office of Water Services (OFWAT) and the Water Services Regulation...

JC

1989-2017

Records of the Office of Water Services (Ofwat) and the Water Services Regulation Authority regading the regulation of the water industry in England and Wales since 1989.

Annual reports of Ofwat are in JC 1, with those of the regional Customer Service Committees in JC 2 and of the Ofwat National Consumer Council in JC 3.

Consultation papers, research papers, reports and other occasional publications produced by Ofwat are in:

• Consultation papers, in JC 4;
• Research papers, in JC 5;
• Occasional publications, in JC 6;
• Reports on water companies, in JC 7;
• Periodic Reviews, in JC 8; digital records, in JC 9.

Board minutes and papers are in JC 11.

Director General of Water Services; Early Procedures Papers are in JC 12.

Letters to Regulatory Directors are in JC 16.

Letters to Managing Directors are in JC 17.

For series created for regularly archived websites, please see the separate Websites Division.

Public Record(s)

English

• Office of Water Services, 1989-2006
• Water Services Regulation Authority, 2006-2006

18 series

Open unless otherwise stated

The Office of Water Services (OFWAT) was established under the Water Act 1989, continuing under the Water Act 2003 until 31 March 2006. By the 2003 Act it was replaced from 1 April 2006 by the Water Services Regulatory Authority (WSRA).

At its initial establishment the WSRA indicated it would continue to refer to the regulatory organisation by the acronym OFWAT, although it would cease to use the full Office of Water Services title.

The Office of Water Services was the regulatory body for the water industry of England and Wales, working with the environment departments and agencies and the Drinking Water Inspectorate to monitor the quality of drinking, estuarine, river, and coastal water, and regulating competition matters and customer services, such as prices and standards of service and arrangements for the representation of customers. The Office was headed by a Director General of Water Services.

Under the Competition Act 1998, coming into force on 1 March 2000, the sector regulators have, with two exceptions, all the powers of the Office of Fair Trading to apply and enforce its provisions with respect to the sectors they regulate.

Regulation1/2003 of the Council of the European Union came into force on 1 May 2004. The regulation enables national competition authorities to apply European Community competition law; and it requires the national competition authorities to apply Community law where there is a potential effect on trade between member states.

The interests of water customers have been protected locally by the Consumer Service Committees from 1989, and nationally by the OFWAT National Consumer Council from 1993. New arrangements for the representation of the interests of water consumers came into effect, under the Water Act 2003.