Statutory Water Companies Act 1991
Statutory Water CompaniesAct 1991
1991 CHAPTER 58
An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to statutory water companies.
[25th July 1991]
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:—
Part I
Powers of Statutory Water Companies
General powers
1 General powers of companies holding appointments.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a statutory water company holding an appointment under Chapter I of Part II of the Water Industry Act 1991 as a water undertaker for any area—
(a) shall have power to do anything (whether in that area or elsewhere) which, in the opinion of the company, is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the carrying out of the functions which are functions of the company by virtue of the appointment; and
(b) without prejudice to the generality of that power, shall have power, for the purposes of, or in connection with, the carrying out of those functions—
(i) to acquire and dispose of land and other property;
(iii) to supply water fittings to any person to whom they supply water and to install, repair and alter such a person's water fittings, whether or not supplied by the company.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by virtue of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) above, a company such as is mentioned in that subsection shall have power—
(a) to provide for any person outside the United Kingdom advice or assistance, including training facilities, as respects any matter in which the company has skill or experience;
(b) to become a member of any body formed for the purpose of promoting the interests of water undertakers or any description of water undertakers; and
(c) to make donations and incur expenditure for the benefit of its officers and employees and in particular to pay, or make provision (whether by contributory or non-contributory schemes or otherwise) for the payment of, pensions, allowances or gratuities to or in respect of any persons who have been or are officers or employees of the company.
(3) Nothing in this section with respect to the carrying out of works shall be construed as conferring any power otherwise than for the purpose of removing such a limitation on the capacity of a statutory water company as would, apart from this section, exist by virtue of the company's constitution.
(4) Accordingly, without prejudice to the provisions of Part VI of the Water Industry Act 1991 , this section shall be disregarded for the purpose of determining whether a statutory water company is liable, on grounds other than such a limitation as is mentioned in subsection (3) above, for any act or omission in exercise of a power to carry out works conferred by this section.
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorising a statutory water company to carry on the business of a manufacturer of water fittings.
(6) In this section ‘supply’, in relation to water fittings, has the same meaning as it has in Part II of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 by virtue of section 46 of that Act.
Powers to issue redeemable stock
2 Powers to issue redeemable stock.
(1) This section applies, subject to the following provisions of this Act, to every statutory water company which—
(a) has created or issued any redeemable stock; or
(b) has authority to create and issue any stock.
(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section and to section 3 below, a company to which this section applies may from time to time issue, so as to be redeemable, any stock created by them or any redeemed stock.
(3) No redeemed stock shall be issued under this section except for the purpose of effecting the redemption of redeemable stock under the provisions of section 3 below unless the issue is authorised by a resolution of a general meeting of the company.
(4) No new stock shall be created, nor shall any redeemed stock be issued by a statutory water company, so as to make the total amount of any particular class of stock exceed the amount of stock of that class which the company is for the time being authorised to create except during an interval of three months between—
(a) the creation or, in the case of redeemed stock, the issue of the stock; and
(b) the completion of the redemption of redeemable stock for the purpose of redeeming which the stock of that particular class is proposed to be created or issued.
(5) Where any preference stock is created or issued by a statutory water company as mentioned in subsection (4) above, the amount raised by means of that stock shall, for the purposes of any enactment, statutory order or resolution regulating the borrowing powers of the company, be deemed during any such interval as is so mentioned not to have been raised.
(6) In this section and section 3 below—
‘issue’ includes reissue;
‘preference stock’ includes preference shares;
‘redeemable stock’ means stock issued so as to be redeemable;
‘redeemed stock’ means redeemable stock which has been redeemed and is available for issue under the provisions of this section or section 3 below; and
‘stock’ means preference stock or debenture stock.
3 Terms and conditions of issue and redemption of redeemable stock.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section and to section 4 below, redeemable stock issued by a company to which section 2 above applies—
(a) shall bear such rate of dividend or interest; and
(b) shall be redeemable at such time, in such manner and subject otherwise to such terms and conditions,
as the company may have determined before issuing the stock.
(2) The terms and conditions of redemption upon which any redeemable stock is issued by a company to which section 2 above applies shall be stated—
(a) in any offer by the company of any of the stock for sale; and
(b) in every certificate of the stock;
and a term or condition which is not so stated shall not be binding upon the holder of the stock.
(3) Redeemable stock may be redeemed either—
(a) by paying off the stocks; or
(b) by issuing, to an assenting holder of the stock, other stock in substitution for the redeemable stock;
and for the purpose of raising money to pay off, or of providing stock in substitution for, any redeemable stock, a company to which section 2 above applies may (subject to subsections (4) and (5) of that section) create new stock or issue redeemed stock, in either case, so as to be redeemable or irredeemable, as the company thinks fit.
(4) A company to which section 2 above applies shall not redeem any redeemable stock out of revenue; but any discount allowed on the issue of redeemable stock, or any premium payable on redemption, may be written off out of revenue.
(5) The redemption, by a company to which section 2 above applies, of any preference stock issued so as to be redeemable shall not affect the validity of any mortgage or of any debenture stock if the grant or issue of the mortgage or debenture stock by the company was lawful in the circumstances existing at the date of the grant or issue.
Relaxation of restrictions affecting raising of capital
4 Relaxation of limits on capital, borrowing and dividends.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section and to section 5 below, so much of any provision contained in any local statutory provision, or having effect by virtue of anything done under any relevant provision, as—
(a) imposes any limit to which this section applies in relation to any statutory water company; or
(b) otherwise relates to any such limit,
shall have effect subject to such modifications as may be approved by special resolution of the company.
(2) This section applies, in relation to a statutory water company, to the following limits (whether they are expressed by reference to a specified sum or percentage or by reference to the respective proportions of, or of different descriptions of, capital raised and sums borrowed or to any other matter), that is to say—
(a) a limit on the amount of capital, or of capital of a particular description, that may be raised by the company;
(b) a limit on the amount that may be borrowed, or borrowed in a particular way or in particular circumstances, by the company; and
(c) a limit on the dividends payable on shares or stock in the company, or on shares or stock of a particular description.
(3) Where there is a division of the shares or stock of a statutory water company into different classes, no modification of a limit falling within subsection (2)(c) above shall have effect by virtue of this section unless a consent to or approval of the modification has been given under subsection (4) below in respect of each class the rights attached to which are varied in consequence of the modification.
(4) A consent or approval is given for the purposes of subsection (3) above in respect of a class of shares or stock if—
(a) consent in writing to the modification has been given by not less than three-quarters, in nominal value, of the members of the company holding shares or stock of that class; or
(b) a resolution approving the modification is passed by not less than...
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