The Director welcomes your views on the issues that are addressed in this consultation paper. Please send them to:

Roger Dunshea
Director of Operations
Office of Water Services
Centre City Tower
7 Hill Street
Birmingham B5 4UA

or by fax to: 0121 625 1382

by 5pm on Friday 9 June 2000

All responses should be marked Having your say.

If you wish to clarify any points in this paper, please contact Julia Havard, Head of External Relations (0121 625 1450) in the first instance and she will ensure that your query is dealt with.

Unless otherwise requested, responses will be placed in the Ofwat library and made available to the public.

Introduction

The 1999 Periodic Review of price limits for the water industry was the most open utility review yet conducted in England and Wales. There was a wide range of issues to be considered and a large number of interested parties to be consulted.

The Director consulted many people, wanting to involve customers, the industry and other organisations in the decision-making process.

This document sets out a proposed process that Ofwat will follow for future consultations, ensuring that the views of all interested parties are taken into account in the decision-making process.

In the following pages we describe:

• the style of consultation documents we will publish;
• how we intend to achieve the widest possible and most appropriate range of consultees;
• how anyone can take part;
• the timetable we will follow;
• how we will publicise the decisions arrived at.

Consultations will normally take place through a consultation document, which will be made readily available, free of charge, and be published on the Internet. The consultation will be publicised, and recognised interested parties will receive a copy of the document automatically.

We will be ready to deal with requests from people who want the document made available in other languages. We will publish bilingually in English and Welsh in line with the requirements of the Welsh Language Act. We will also be ready to deal with requests from people with special needs who may ask for a consultation document to be made available in a particular format (for example in Braille, large print or audio tape).

Where appropriate, either during the consultation period, or following decisions made, meetings will be held with organisations or individuals to explain and clarify the issues, and to properly understand their points of view.

We will make public all responses to our consultations unless they are marked confidential. (Requests for confidentiality will normally be respected in accordance with the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and subject to the Freedom of Information Bill currently before Parliament.)

The final decisions taken will be published.

All respondees will automatically receive a copy of the decision document.

Timetable for consultations

Consultations will allow enough time for organisations to consult their members and interested parties. For example, the Ofwat Customer Service Committees (CSCs) may want to meet with customers to seek their views.

Ofwat will generally allow eight weeks for responses to consultations. If a shorter response time is required, Ofwat will clearly set out reasons for this. For example, pre-determined statutory periods for consultation, other government or regulatory timetables, for example, mergers or consultations with clearly defined groups or specialist groups, where shorter consultation periods may be necessary.

The consultation document will also specify the time in which decisions will be published.

The consultation document

Our consultation documents will be concise, clearly laid out, and written in simple language that is understood by the intended audience and avoids jargon.

They will generally include:

(a) a summary;

(b) a description of the issues being addressed, the purpose and objectives of the exercise;

(c) the issues on which views are being sought, wherever possible in the form of clear questions;

(d) sources of opinions and information if relevant;

(e) where appropriate, details of who is likely to be affected and how, together with an assessment of the effect on particular groups such as the water companies, or particular groups of customer (small households, large families etc);

(f) an indication of whether primary or secondary legislation would be required;

(g) the deadline for responses;

(h) the timetable for the decision-making and implementation process;

(i) details of the person in Ofwat who can be contacted for information;

(j) a request for respondents to tell us who they are, and where relevant who they represent, to help us to obtain a balanced view of responses; and

(k) a list of official consultees.

The decision document

This will generally include:

(a) a summary of all responses to each issue raised;

(b) the Director's response, and explanations of his decision for each issue;

(c) where appropriate, details of the effect on particular groups such as the water companies, or particular groups of customer (small households, large families etc);

(d) the timescale for implementation;

(e) details of the person in Ofwat who can be contacted for further information; and

(f) a list of respondees.

Your views are sought

The Director welcomes your views on:

1. the process;

2. the timetable; and

3. the proposed format of the consultation document and the decision document.

Following consideration of the responses, Ofwat will finalise a Code of Practice for future consultations by the end of July 2000.

A copy will be sent to all respondees, publicised and posted on Ofwat's website.

Please send your comments to:

Roger Dunshea
Director of Operations
Office of Water Services
Centre City Tower
7 Hill Street
Birmingham B5 4UA

or by fax to: 0121 625 1382

by 5pm on Friday 9 June 2000

All responses should be marked Having your say.

If you wish to clarify any points in this paper, please contact Julia Havard, Head of External Relations (0121 625 1450) in the first instance and she will ensure that your query is dealt with.

Unless otherwise requested, responses will be placed in the Ofwat library and made available to the public.

Water companies
Water and sewerage companies
Water companies
Water UK

Quality regulators/environmentalists
Council for the Protection of Rural England
Council for the Protection of Rural Wales
Countryside Agency
Countryside Council for Wales
Country Landowners' Association
Drinking Water Inspectorate
English Nature
Environment Agency
Friends of the Earth
Institute of Hydrology
National Farmers' Union
Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Surfers Against Sewage
UK Round Table on Sustainable Development

Other regulators
Office of Gas and Electricity Markets
Office of the Rail Regulator
Office of Telecommunications
Civil Aviation Authority
Office for the Regulation of Electricity and Gas (Northern Ireland)

Reporters and Auditors
Water companies' Auditors and Reporters

Organisations representing customer interests
Age Concern England
Association of British Chambers of Commerce
Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply
Chemical Industries Association Ltd
Child Poverty Action Group
Confederation of British Industry
Confederation of British Industry, Wales
Consumers' Association
Food and Drink Federation
Help the Aged
Institute of Directors
Major Energy Users Council
Money Advice Association
National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux
National Campaign for Water Justice
National Consumer Council
National Council for One Parent Families
National Federation of Consumer Groups
National Federation of Small Businesses
National Federation of Women's Institutes
Ofwat Customer Service Committees
Public Utilities Access Forum
Save the Children Fund
Utility Buyers Forum
Waterwatch
Welsh Consumer Council

Trade bodies, suppliers and contractors
British Plastics Federation
British Water
Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management
Clay Pipe Development Association
Federation of Master Builders
House Builders Federation
Institute of Plumbing
Sewer Renovation Federation
Society of British Water Industries

Trade unions
TUC
UNISON

Members of Parliament
Associate Parliamentary Water Group
Liberal Democrat Spokesman on the Environment
Shadow Secretary Environment, Transport and the Regions

Local government organisations
Local Government Association
National Association of Local Councils
Welsh Local Government Association

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