The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006

Utilities

3.—(1) In these Regulations a utility is a relevant person specified in one of the Parts of Schedule 1 carrying out an activity in that Part.

(2) In this regulation and in Schedule 1—

“local authority” means—

(a)

in relation to a local authority in England, an authority referred to in regulation 3(2) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006;

(b)

in relation to a local authority in Wales, an authority referred to in regulation 3(3) of those Regulations;

(c)

in relation to a local authority in Scotland, an authority referred to in regulation 3(4) of those Regulations; and

(d)

in relation to a local authority in Northern Ireland, an authority referred to in regulation 3(5) of those Regulations;

“network” in relation to a service in the field of transport, means a system operated in accordance with conditions laid down by or under the law in any part of England, Wales or Northern Ireland including such conditions as the routes to be served, the capacity to be made available and the frequency of the service;

“public undertaking” means a person over whom one or more contracting authorities are able to exercise directly or indirectly a dominant influence by virtue of—

(a)

their ownership of that person;

(b)

their financial participation in that person; or

(c)

the rights accorded to them by the rules which govern that person;

“relevant person” means a person who is—

(a)

a contracting authority;

(b)

a public undertaking; or

(c)

not a contracting authority or a public undertaking, but whose activities include an activity specified in the second column of Schedule 1 and who carries out that activity on the basis of a special or exclusive right; and

“special or exclusive rights” means rights granted by a competent authority by way of any legislative, regulatory or administrative provision, the effect of which is to limit the exercise of activities specified in the second column of Schedule 1 to one or more entities, and which substantially affects the ability of other entities to carry out such activities.

(3) For the purposes of the definition of “public undertaking” a contracting authority is considered to be able to exercise a dominant influence over a person when it directly or indirectly—

(a) possesses the majority of the issued share capital of that person or controls the majority of the voting power attached to the issued share capital of that person; or

(b) may appoint—

(i) more than half of the individuals who are ultimately responsible for managing that person’s affairs;

(ii) more than half of its members; or

(iii) in the case of a group of individuals, more than half of those individuals.