Overview
During the research which included communicating with the Scottish Government Water Industry Team, we received two letters:
- One from Jon Rathjen, Team Leader Water Industry Team, Ref: 2016/0023048, Dated: 21 July 2016
- The other from Bob Irvine, Deputy Director Water Industry Division, Ref: 2016/0028722, Dated: 29 September 2016
Both are reviewed below, and not only conflict with each other, but also with the remits of the SPSO and the Water Industry Commission for Scotland.
The Research Process
Given that there appears to be a problem with Scottish Water, and its subsidiaries, during the research undertaken for this series of articles, it became necessary to engage with the various organs of government and administration in order to determine actually what was going on, and why what is apprently a clear and concise, easily understandable law was not being adhered to.
These organs included:
- Scottish Water Revenue Proetection Team
- Water Industry Commission for Scotland
- Scottish Government Water Industry Team of the Environment and Forestry Directorate
The problem is that it appears that Section 27 of the 2005 Water Act is being studiously ignored. One thing is for sure - every organ is singing from the same Hymn Sheet: which means that the preacher is covering the ground very thoroughly.
A number of questions arise:
- To what sector is it happening ?
- How long has it been happening ?
- How is this happening ?
- Why is it happening ?
The results are the two letters - the text of which is given below. Our comments are shown in red.