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Deregulation Act 2015

Statutory Water Companies Act 1991

947.Paragraph 27 in Part 5 of this Schedule repeals the Statutory Water Companies Act 1991, an Act which forms part of the law of England and Wales only. Paragraph 28 removes references to the Act and the term “statutory water company” from other Acts. The repeals and amendments relating to statutory water companies come into force at the end of the period of 2 months beginning with the day on which the Act is passed.

948.Statutory water companies were private businesses with share capital that were incorporated under individual Acts of Parliament. Most dated from the middle of the 19th Century and included, for example, York Waterworks which provided water supply services to the city of York. Unlike the water authorities that were privatised in 1989, statutory water companies were never in the public sector and were not required to register as limited companies under the Companies Act 1985 because they were incorporated under local Acts. The Statutory Water Companies Act regulated how the statutory water companies could operate. For example, it restricted the rate of dividend payable to shareholders and the amount the company could borrow.

949.There are no longer any statutory water companies left as, since privatisation, they have either merged with other water companies or been taken over by other limited companies. This means the provisions of the Statutory Water Companies Act are now redundant and can be repealed.

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