9.The Government has consulted extensively on water reform since its announcement in December 2002. An initial consultation paper entitled “The Reform of Water and Sewerage Services in Northern Ireland” (March 2003) focused on the need for investment in Northern Ireland’s water and sewerage infrastructure and invited views on how this could be achieved, including the issue of domestic charging. The results of consultation were published later that year. Detailed reform measures were announced in summer 2004 and a draft Integrated Impact Assessment was published in November 2004 for public consultation on the reform proposals. Following public consultation, the Government published its response to comments in a Consultation Report, Final Integrated Impact Assessment and Regulatory Impact Assessment in December 2005. All of the above consultation papers can be viewed at www.waterreformni.gov.uk .