Westminster signals changes

摘要

The Government is to pub lish a new draft water bill based on the white paper, Water for Life, published in December. Defra says the bill will be available for pre-legis-lative scrutiny in early 2012 with the aim to "introduce a water bill as soon as parliamentary time allows". Guy Lougher, water industry and competition law expert at law firm Pinsent Masons, writing on its Out-Law, com website, says: "If implemented as envisaged the Government's proposals will alter the legal balance away from incumbent suppliers in favour of new entrants. The fact that these reforms are taking place within a wider context of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills separately considering far-reaching reforms to the UK's competition regime could mean that the overall competition landscape will change profoundly in the water sector."