Water Act 1989

Chapter I U.K. Appointment and Regulation of Water and Sewerage Undertakers

Making and conditions of appointmentsU.K.

11 Appointment of undertakers.U.K.

F1(1)—(8). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(9)In the M1House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, in Part III of Schedule 1 (other disqualifying offices), there shall be inserted (at the appropriate place) the following entry—

“Director of a company for the time being holding an appointment under Chapter I of Part II of the Water Act 1989 or of such a company’s holding company, being a director nominated or appointed by a Minister of the Crown or by a person acting on behalf of the Crown.”;

and the like insertion shall be made in Part III of Schedule 1 to the M2Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975.

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[F313 Procedure for replacement appointments.U.K.

(1)An application for an appointment or variation to which section 12 above applies shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed; and, within fourteen days after making any such application, the applicant shall—

(a)serve notice of the application on the existing appointee and on every local authority whose area includes the whole or any part of the area to which the application relates; and

(b)publish a copy of the notice in such manner as may be prescribed.

(2)Before making an appointment or variation to which section 12 above applies, the Secretary of State or the Director shall give notice—

(a)stating that he proposes to make the appointment or variation;

(b)stating the reasons why he proposes to make the appointment or variation; and

(c)specifying the period (not being less than twenty-eight days from the date of publication of the notice) within which representations or objections with respect to the proposed appointment or variation may be made,

and shall consider any representations or objections which are duly made and not withdrawn.

(3)A notice under subsection (2) above shall be given—

(a)by publishing the notice in such manner as the Secretary of State or, as the case may be, the Director considers appropriate for bringing it to the attention of persons likely to be affected by the making of the proposed appointment or variation; and

(b)by serving a copy of the notice on the existing appointee and on every local authority whose area includes the whole or any part of the area to which the proposed appointment or variation relates.

(4)Before making an appointment or variation to which section 12 above applies, the Secretary of State shall consult the Director.

(5)As soon as practicable after making an appointment or variation to which section 12 above applies, the Secretary of State or the Director shall—

(a)serve a copy of the appointment or variation on the existing appointee; and

(b)serve notice of the making of the appointment or variation on every local authority whose area includes the whole or any part of the area to which the appointment or variation relates.

(6)Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the making of transitional provision for the purposes of, or in connection with, the making of an appointment or variation to which section 12 above applies.

(7)In this section “the existing appointee”, in relation to an appointment or variation to which section 12 above applies, means the company which is the existing appointee for the purposes of that section in relation to any area to the whole or any part of which the appointment or variation relates or, where there is more than one such company, each of them.]

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Special administration ordersU.K.

[F523 Special administration orders in relation to water or sewerage undertakers.U.K.

(1)If, on an application made to the High Court by petition presented—

(a)by the Secretary of State; or

(b)with the consent of the Secretary of State, by the Director,

that Court is satisfied in relation to any company which holds an appointment under this Chapter that any one or more of the grounds specified in subsection (4) below is satisfied in relation to that company, that Court may make an order under this section.

(2)An order under this section is an order directing that, during the period for which the order is in force, the affairs, business and property of the company shall be managed, by a person appointed by the High Court, for the achievement of the purposes of the order and in a manner which protects the respective interests of the members and creditors of the company.

(3)The purposes of an order made under this section in relation to a company holding an appointment under this Chapter shall be—

(a)the transfer to another company, or (as respects different parts of the company’s area or different parts of its undertaking) to two or more different companies, as a going concern, of so much of the company’s undertaking as it is necessary to transfer in order to ensure that the functions which have been vested in the company by virtue of its appointment may be properly carried out; and

(b)the carrying out of those functions pending the making of the transfer and the vesting of those functions in the other company or companies (whether by virtue of the transfer or of an appointment or variation to which section 12 above applies).

(4)The grounds mentioned in subsection (1) above are, in relation to any company—

(a)that there has been, is or is likely to be such a contravention by the company of a requirement imposed on the company by section 37 or 67 below, not being a contravention in respect of which a notice has been served under subsection (6) of section 20 above, as is serious enough to make it inappropriate for the company to continue to hold its appointment;

(b)that there has been, is or is likely to be such a contravention by the company of the provisions of any final order or provisional order under section 20 above, being an order which—

(i)is not for the time being the subject-matter of proceedings brought by virtue of section 22(1) above; and

(ii)if it is a provisional order, has been confirmed,

as is serious enough to make it inappropriate for the company to continue to hold its appointment;

(c)that the company is or is likely to be unable to pay its debts;

(d)that, in a case in which the Secretary of State has certified that it would be appropriate, but for section 24 below, for him to petition for the winding up of the company under section 440 of the M3Companies Act 1985 (petition by the Secretary of State following inspectors’ report etc.), it would be just and equitable, as mentioned in that section, for the company to be wound up if it did not hold an appointment under this Chapter; or

(e)that the company is unable or unwilling adequately to participate in arrangements certified by the Secretary of State or the Director to be necessary by reason of, or in connection with, a proposal for the making by virtue of subsection (2)(c) of section 12 above of any appointment or variation to which that section applies.

(5)Notice of the petition for an order under this section shall be given forthwith to such persons and in such manner as may be prescribed by rules made under section 411 of the M4Insolvency Act 1986; and no such petition shall be withdrawn except with the leave of the High Court.

(6)Subsections (4) and (5) of section 9 of the said Act of 1986 (powers on application for administration order) shall apply on the hearing of the petition for an order under this section in relation to any company as they apply on the hearing of a petition for an administration order.

(7)Subsections (1), (2) and (4) of section 10 of the said Act of 1986 (effect of petition) shall apply in the case of a petition for an order under this section in relation to any company as if—

(a)the reference in subsection (1) to an administration order were a reference to an order under this section;

(b)paragraph (b) of that subsection did require the leave of the court for the taking of any of the steps mentioned in paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (2) (appointment of, and exercise of functions by, administrative receiver); and

(c)the reference in paragraph (c) of subsection (1) to proceedings included a reference to any proceedings under or for the purposes of section 20 above.

(8)Schedule 6 to this Act shall have effect with respect to orders under this section and Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the making of transitional provision for the purposes of an order under this section.

(9)In this section and section 24 below—

• “business” and “property” have the same meanings as in the M5Insolvency Act 1986;

• “security” has the same meaning as in Parts I to VII of that Act;

and for the purposes of this section a company is unable to pay its debts if it is a limited company which is deemed to be so unable under section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (definition of inability to pay debts) or if it is an unregistered company which is deemed, by virtue of any of sections 222 to 224 of that Act, to be so unable for the purposes of section 221 of that Act (winding up of unregistered companies).]

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