The Department for Food Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published the outcome of its consultation on the draft Regulations which would enable water and sewerage companies to exit from the non-household retail market.

The document provides a summary of the responses Defra received to the consultation, together with the Government’s response and details of a number of modifications which will be made to the draft Regulations.

In total there were 22 responses to the consultation of which 19 were from water companies, including two new appointees and one Welsh undertaker). The other respondents were the Consumer Council for Water, Market Operator Systems Limited and one Scottish licensee.

Defra will now introduce a number of modifications to the draft Regulations as a result of the consultation, including the application of a duty on the Secretary of State to publish a notice confirming any decisions to accept or refuse any exit applications.

In responses to concerns around the identification of premises,  Defra is also introducing an amendment to allow Ofwat to require undertakers and licensees with an interest in premises to provide relevant information which will help Ofwat to make a determination about the status of the premises.

Alongside the response Defra has laid the Regulations in Parliament under the procedure for statutory instruments - subject to the approval of Parliament, the Regulations will come into force on 3 October 2016.

Click here to read the response paper in full