Water Act 1983
| Year | 1983 |
Water Act 1983
1983 CHAPTER 23
An Act to make provision as to the constitution and procedure of water authorities and their borrowing and other powers and as to arrangements for the carrying out of their sewerage functions; to enable water authorities and statutory water companies to provide advice and assistance outside the United Kingdom; to provide for the dissolution of the National Water Council and the Water Space Amenity Commission; and to repeal the Water Charges Equalisation Act 1977; and for connected purposes.
[9th May 1983]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Constitution and procedure of water authorities
1 Constitution and procedure of water authorities.
(1) For section 3 of the principal Act (members of water authorities) there is substituted the following section—
3 ‘Constitution and procedure of water authorities.
(1) Each of the regional water authorities shall consist of the following members—
(a ) a chairman appointed by the Secretary of State,
(b ) two members appointed by the Minister, and
(c ) not less than six nor more than twelve other members appointed by the Secretary of State.
(2) The Welsh authority shall consist of a chairman, and not less than eight nor more than fourteen other members, appointed by the Secretary of State.
(3) The Secretary of State shall designate a member of each water authority as deputy chairman of that authority.
(4) The members appointed by the Minister shall be persons who appear to him to have had experience of, and shown capacity in, agriculture, land drainage or fisheries.
(5) In the case of the regional water authorities, the members appointed by the Secretary of State shall be persons who appear to him to have had experience of, and shown capacity in, some matter relevant to the functions of water authorities.
(6) In the case of the Welsh authority—
(a ) at least two members shall be persons who appear to the Secretary of State to have had experience of, and shown capacity in, land drainage or fisheries; and
(b ) the remaining members shall be persons who appear to him to have had experience of, and shown capacity in, some other matter relevant to the functions of water authorities.
(7) In appointing the members of a water authority, regard shall be had to the desirability of members of the authority being familiar with the requirements and circumstances of the authority's area.’.
(2) In Part II of Schedule 1 to the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 (bodies of which all members are disqualified), the following entries are inserted at the appropriate places—
‘A regional water authority established in accordance with section 2 of the Water Act 1973’;
‘The Welsh Water Authority’.
(3) For Part I of Schedule 3 to the principal Act (supplementary provisions as to administration etc, of water authorities) there are substituted the provisions set out in Schedule 1 to this Act.
Borrowing powers
2 Borrowing powers of water authorities.
(1) In paragraph 34(3)(b ) of Schedule 3 to the principal Act (water authorities to borrow from persons other than the Secretary of State, otherwise than by way of temporary loan, only in a currency other than sterling) after the word ‘Treasury,’ there are inserted the words ‘either in sterling or’.
(2) In paragraph 34(5) of Schedule 3 to the principal Act (which limits the aggregate amount outstanding in respect of the principal of sums borrowed by water authorities and sums borrowed or treated as borrowed by certain other bodies to 3,750 million or such greater sum not exceeding 5,000 million as the Secretary of State may by order specify) for the words ‘3,750 million’ and ‘5,000 million’ there are substituted respectively the words ‘6,000 million’ and ‘7,500 million’.
(3) Paragraph 34(5) and (6) of Schedule 3 to the principal Act shall have effect as if any sum borrowed by the National Water Council the liability to repay which is or has been transferred to a water authority were borrowed by that authority and not by the Council.
Dissolution of National Water Council and Water Space Amenity Commission
3 Dissolution of National Water Council and Water Space Amenity Commission.
(1) On such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint, the functions of the National Water Council shall determine and all the property, rights and liabilities which immediately before the day so appointed were property, rights and liabilities of the Council shall, by virtue of this section, become property, rights and liabilities of the Secretary of State for the Environment.
(2) On such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint, the functions of the Water Space Amenity Commission shall determine.
(3) This section has effect subject to Schedule 2 to this Act which makes further provision in relation to the Council and Commission, including provision for their dissolution.
(4) The Secretary of State may by order transfer to any authority, or to any person who in his opinion acts or will act on behalf of one or more authorities—
(a ) such of the property, rights and liabilities of the Council, or
(b ) in the case of an order having effect after the day appointed under subsection (1) above, such of the property, rights and liabilities vested in him by virtue of that subsection,
as he considers expedient.
(5) In subsection (4) above ‘authority’ means—
(a ) a water authority,
(b ) a statutory water company,
(c ) a regional or islands council,
(d ) a river purification board, or
(e ) a water development board.
4 Expenses of Secretary of State occasioned by section 3.
(1) Any sums received by the Secretary of State by virtue of the transfer of property, rights and liabilities effected by section 3 of this Act shall be paid by him into the Consolidated Fund.
(2) The Secretary of State may levy from water authorities such contributions (which need not be the same for each authority) as appear to him, when taken together, necessary to meet the net expenses incurred by him—
(a ) in discharging any liabilities to which he becomes subject by virtue of section 3 of this Act, or
(b ) otherwise in connection with the dissolution of the National Water Council and Water Space Amenity Commission.
(3) In subsection (2) above ‘net expenses’ means the amount of the expenses in question reduced by the amount paid by the Secretary of State into the Consolidated Fund in accordance with subsection (1) above.
(4) Any sums received by the Secretary of State by way of levy under subsection (2) above shall be paid by him into the Consolidated Fund.
Miscellaneous
5 Overseas activities of water authorities and statutory water companies.
(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, a water authority or statutory water company may provide for any person outside the United Kingdom advice or assistance, including training facilities, as respects any matter in which they have skill or experience; and for the purposes of this section, statutory water companies shall have the same powers as water authorities have by virtue of paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 3 to the principal Act.
(2) The power conferred by subsection (1) above shall not be exercised except—
(a ) with the consent in writing of the Secretary of State; and
(b ) if the exercise of that power involves capital expenditure by the authority or company, or the guaranteeing by the authority or company of any liability, with that consent given with the approval of the Treasury.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) above are without prejudice to any power of a water authority or statutory water company apart from subsection (1) above to provide advice or assistance of the kind mentioned in that subsection.
(4) Any consent under this section may be given subject to such conditions as the Secretary of State thinks fit.
(5) The Secretary of State shall issue guidance as to the criteria by reference to which he will determine any request for consent under this section.
6 Arrangements for carrying out sewerage functions.
(1) The following section is substituted for section 15 of the principal Act—
15 ‘Arrangements for carrying out sewerage functions.
(1) It shall be the duty of every water authority and of every relevant authority whose area is wholly or partly in the area of the water authority to endeavour to make arrangements for the relevant authority to discharge, as respects their area, the sewerage functions of the water authority.
(2) Schedule 4A to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of supplementing this section.’
(2) After Schedule 4 to the principal Act there are inserted, as Schedule 4A, the provisions set out in Schedule 3 to this Act.
7 Arrangements by water authorities for representation of consumers' interests.
7. The following section is inserted after section 24 of the principal Act—
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