Download or read book Ofwat price review 2009 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-07-24 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A report in which the Committee calls on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to review Ofwat's entire remit so that the regulatory regime will keep pace with the changes set to follow from greater competition and the challenge posed by scarcer water resources.
Download or read book Ofwat Price Review 2009 written by Great Britain and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ofwat Price Review 2009 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and published by . This book was released on 2009-10-19 with total page 21 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government response to HC 554-I, session 2008-09 (ISBN 9780215540263)
Download or read book Ofwat price review 2009 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-07-22 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee calls on Defra to review Ofwat's entire remit so that the regulatory regime will keep pace with the changes set to follow from greater competition and the challenge posed by scarcer water resources. On the matter of surface water drainage, Ofwat should have intervened to ensure a more measured set price increases for this service were levied on sports clubs, churches and voluntary organisations by water companies in recent months. Ofwat and the Government should explore how the costs of highway drainage - currently born by water customers - could be shared with local taxpayers who benefit from the service. Uncertainties created by the Cave and Walker reviews (both of which reported during the current Price Review) along with changes to the regulatory regime proposed in the draft Flood and Water Management Bill may have hampered the ability of water companies to raise money on the capital markets in a manner likely to push up customer bills. Warning of water scarcity in the South and East of England, the Committee calls for the creation of a 'water efficiency obligation' to ensure the regulatory regime emphasises the need to preserve resources and to rewards customers who install efficiency measures. Other recommendations are made on the uneven regional impacts of investment in water infrastructure, the impacts of climate change, and the issue of transparency, from the price review process itself to how well Ofwat currently requires companies to demonstrate they undertake effective consultation with consumers during business planning.
Download or read book Legal Frameworks for Transparency in Water Utilities Regulation written by Mohamad Mova Al'Afghani and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-08-12 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Transparency in the regulation of water utilities is essential in order to ensure quality and fairness. This book explores and compares different regulatory arrangements in the water utilities sectors in three jurisdictions to determine which regulatory and ownership model is most transparent and why. The three jurisdictions considered are England (UK), Victoria (Australia) and Jakarta (Indonesia). Following an introduction to the importance of transparency in water utilities regulation, the book provides an overview of the three chosen jurisdictions and their legal and institutional frameworks. Through a comparison of these the author explores the contested and difficult terrain of "privatization", as (often) opposed to public ownership, in which it is shown that the relationships between transparency and ownership models are not as clear-cut as might be assumed. Chapters consider various aspects and outcomes of the regulatory process and the role of transparency, including topics such as regulators' internal governance mechanisms, utilities corporate governance, licensing and information flow, freedom of information and transparency in tariffs and pricing, as well as customer service. The book concludes with a summary of lessons learned to inform the refinement of transparency in utilities regulation.
Download or read book Adapting to climate change written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-25 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate projections show that Britain can expect wetter winters, drier summers and a higher likelihood of flash-floods, heat waves and droughts. Yet adaptation to climate change has been given only a fraction of the attention that has gone into reducing greenhouse gases. The Government must build awareness and support for the wide-ranging and urgent programme of action that is needed to protect people, property and prosperity and safeguard the natural environment. Adapting infrastructure and homes will be expensive. To maintain current levels of flood protection for homes, real terms spending on flood defences will need to increase from its current level of around £600 million per annum to around £1 billion in 2035. Estimates in 2009 suggest that by the end of the century around £7 billion may be needed to improve the Thames flood barrier and tidal defences. New homes being built now must be designed to cope with the inevitable changes in climate over the next 50 - 80 years. The Government must make adaptation and mitigation more central to the planning system. New developments should only be permitted if they are suited to future climates. Existing homes will also need to be adapted so that they are comfortable during hotter summers and better protected against the risk of flooding. The Government must help to kick start an integrated retro-fitting programme that covers adaptation, water efficiency and energy efficiency. Green infrastructure - such as water storage, greater tree cover and more open green spaces - must also be promoted.
Download or read book Sessional returns written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-01-27 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees
Download or read book Water Resources in the Built Environment written by Colin A. Booth and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-03-31 with total page 487 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Water management is a key environmental issue in controlling of floods and reducing droughts. This book provides analysis of the main issues, offering solutions and describing good practice. Water Resources for the Built Environment: management issues and solutions develops an appreciation of the diverse, complex and current themes of the water resources debate across the built environment, urban development and management continuum. The integration of physical and environmental sciences, combined with social, economic and political sciences, provide a unique resource, useful to policy experts, scientists, engineers and subject enthusiasts. By taking an interdisciplinary approach, water resources issues and impacts on the built environment are presented in the inventive and strategic setting of considering the constraints of delivering potable water to an ever-demanding society who, at the same time, are increasingly aware of living in an urban landscape where excessive surface water creates a flood threatened environment – hence, the need to portray a balance between ‘too little vs. too much’. This unique approach to the water resources debate presents a multifaceted collection of chapters that address the contemporary concomitant issues of water shortage and urban flooding and proffers solutions specifically for the built environment. The book is structured into three parts: the first part (Sections 2, 3 and 4) addresses management issues and solutions to minimise water shortages and provide water security for society; whilst the second part of the book (Sections 5 and 6) addresses management issues and solutions to control excessive rainfall and minimise flooding impacts. The third part (Section 7) contextualises the issues of the earlier sections within international case studies from the developing world.
Download or read book Future flood and water management legislation written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-12-22 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government must act to tackle the twin challenges of protecting over five million properties from flooding and maintaining clean, reliable and affordable water supplies. The Committee is concerned that the Government has cut flood defence funding and will in future require communities to pay a greater contribution towards the defences from which they benefit. At a time of budgetary constraint, the committee believes there is no certainty that this funding gap can be filled. The report tells Ministers they must: spell out how the Government will deliver its pledge to focus public money for flood defence on those communities at greatest risk and least able to protect themselves; ensure adequate and stable funding for local authorities and other agencies given new responsibilities under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 to plan for and respond to flood events. The report calls on the Government to sharpen the regulatory framework for the water industry to ensure it places customers' views at the heart of a future strategy that will deliver improved affordability and water efficiency. Ministers should: clarify the role for social tariffs in helping those who have difficulty paying their water bills; implement a solution that brings down bills for customers in regions where water charges are at present disproportionately high due to the need for large-scale capital investment in sewage systems; publish a strategy to implement a wider programme of metering and variable tariffs designed to improve water efficiency while protecting those on low incomes from unaffordable price rises.
Download or read book The work of committees in 2008 09 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Liaison Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-16 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: work of committees In 2008-09 : Second report of session 2009-10, report, together with formal minutes and Appendices
Download or read book HC 505 Economic Regulation of the Water Sector written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 17 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The General Practice Extraction Service (GPES) is an IT system designed to allow NHS organisations to extract data from all GP practice computer systems in England. This data would be used to monitor quality, plan and pay for health services and help medical research. The National Audit Office conducted an investigation into the service following concerns raised during a financial audit of the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). The investigation found that the project had been delayed and only one customer, NHS England, had so far received data from GPES. Mistakes in the original procurement and contract management contributed to losses of public funds, through asset write-offs and settlements with suppliers. However, the need for the service remains and further public expenditure is needed to improve GPES or replace it. This inquiry will examine the procurement and development of the GPES system, the total expected cost of the GPES programme, which increased from £14 million to £40 million during planning and procurement, and how the capability of GPES can be used to provide a suitable data extraction service in the future.
Download or read book Ofwat s Price Review written by and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Draft Water Bill written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-02 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Draft Water Bill sets out proposed new legislation, much of which would extend competition in the water industry. The MPs are concerned that the Draft Bill contains only a broad framework and leaves too much of the important detail to be decided by the regulator, Ofwat, or to be introduced through secondary legislation that receives less parliamentary scrutiny. In welcoming the opportunities for greater competition within the retail water sector (providing billing services) the MPs ask Government to get on with implementing changes that would reduce flooding - many of which were recommended nearly five years ago. The MPs highlight the importance of managing our water resources sustainably and efficiently. They recommend that encouraging sustainable development be elevated to a primary duty of the regulator and that the Government brings forward legislation to enable the abstraction regime to be reformed by 2022. In addition they recommend implementation of existing provisions on bad debt and encouraging greater use of water meters, both of which would lower customers' water bills. However, the report concludes that the Government needs to undertake further work before embarking on "upstream" competition, which would enable companies to compete in the supply of water.
Download or read book Definitions Concepts and Scope of Engineering Asset Management written by Joe E. Amadi-Echendu and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-11-02 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Definitions, Concepts and Scope of Engineering Asset Management, the first volume in this new review series, seeks to minimise ambiguities in the subject matter. The ongoing effort to develop guidelines is shaping the future towards the creation of a body of knowledge for the management of engineered physical assets. Increasingly, industry practitioners are looking for strategies and tactics that can be applied to enhance the value-creating capacities of new and installed asset systems. The new knowledge-based economy paradigm provides imperatives to combine various disciplines, knowledge areas and skills for effective engineering asset management. This volume comprises selected papers from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd World Congresses on Engineering Asset Management, which were convened under the auspices of ISEAM in collaboration with a number of organisations, including CIEAM Australia, Asset Management Council Australia, BINDT UK, and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China. Definitions, Concepts and Scope of Engineering Asset Management will be of interest to researchers in engineering, innovation and technology management, as well as to managers, planners and policy-makers in both industry and government.
Download or read book Handbook of Production Economics written by Subhash C. Ray and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-06-02 with total page 1797 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This three-volume handbook includes state-of-the-art surveys in different areas of neoclassical production economics. Volumes 1 and 2 cover theoretical and methodological issues only. Volume 3 includes surveys of empirical applications in different areas like manufacturing, agriculture, banking, energy and environment, and so forth.
Download or read book National Audit Office NAO Cross Government Infrastructure Investment The Impact on Consumer Bills HC 812 I written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-11-13 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government and regulators do not know by how much overall expected new investment by the private sector in infrastructure will increase household utility bills and whether bills will be affordable. The National Audit Office has recommended that the Treasury ensure there are mechanisms to assess the cumulative impact of infrastructure investment on consumer bills. This report, which focuses on the energy, water and, to a lesser extent, telecoms sectors, recognizes that the UK requires significant investment in new infrastructure. The Treasury expects that over two-thirds of the £310 billion worth of the planned infrastructure it has identified will be privately financed, owned and operated but paid for by consumers through their utility bills. High levels of expected new investment in infrastructure mean that energy and water bills may rise significantly from current levels. The available projections suggest that increases in both energy and water bills will continue to outstrip inflation, on average, up to 2030. This is particularly concerning, given that energy and water bills have increased significantly in recent years, while incomes have not. The affordability of utility bills can be assessed only in the context of wider pressures on household expenditure, including an understanding of all household bills as well as potential trends in household incomes. There is a range of schemes to support vulnerable consumers but without a fuller understanding of affordability in the round, government and regulators cannot assess the adequacy of these schemes, now or in the future
Download or read book Dairy Farmers of Britain written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-23 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The demise on 3 June 2009 of Dairy Farmers of Britain (DFB) resulted in substantial losses for its 1,813 farmer members. It also resulted in more than a thousand job losses. A market crash was avoided, thanks to the positive response of - among others - the receivers, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Welsh Assembly Government, and, in general the dairy industry itself. The Committee believes the way in which DFB pursued its vertical integration strategy was over-ambitious. No single factor caused the demise of the DFB although the purchase of Associated Cooperatives Creameries (ACC) for a total of £81 million in 2004 had lasting repercussions. They are satisfied that DFB did not fail because it was a co-operative. However, its failure draws attention to a number of ways in which UK dairy co-operatives could be strengthened. Defra should be offering advice and assistance and they are urged to set up a task force comprising the Financial Services Authority, members of the banking community and industry representatives to investigate ways to overcome constraints on capitalising agricultural co-operatives. Defra must also raise with the Treasury the need to ensure that farmers are not taxed on money that is only notionally paid out to them and actually retained by their co-operative. They also recommend that Defra produce a report examining governance and capital raising arrangements in successful co-operatives overseas. The collapse of DFB also draws attention to the urgent need to update insolvency legislation as it applies to co-operatives.