scotland: scottish water, a private
company under public control
Scotland is not short of water. However,
new EU regulations on drinking water
quality have forced the Scottish Executive
to reconsider how water is managed in
Scotland. Their response has been partial
privatization of the water industry,
raising extra investment, which has, for
example, helped to address the problem of
raw sewage being dumped in the ocean.
Critically however, Scottish Water
remains a publicly owned company. The
majority of its shares belong to the state
and it is answerable to the Scottish
Parliament. Scottish Water is also strictly
regulated - by the Water Industry
Commissioner, the Drinking Water Quality
Regulator, the Scottish Environment
Protection Agency and the Health and Safety
Executive.
However, the new company has massively
reduced its workforce and prices have
risen, though mostly for the commercial
rather than the domestic sector. Apart from
higher prices there has been little
encouragement to reduce water use. There is
no legally guaranteed right to water in
Scotland, but in practice Scottish Water
cannot disconnect people for
non-payment.
