Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | november 2014 | 13 Industry leader Alan Sutherland Chief executive, Water Industry Commission Scotland "We're aiming to get to the point of being a fully resilient industry… that's about smarter spending rather than increased spending" T he recent No vote in Scotland's referendum on independence hasn't materially impacted the country's water industry, according to Alan Sutherland, the chief executive of its Water Industry Commission. However, the regulatory role of his office could be incorporated into a single regulator for Scottish utilities as part of home rule or further devolution, he adds. "The regulation of water and its operation as a business were already devolved. Scottish Water is a public body and that separates it philo- sophically and practically from the industry in England and Wales," he points out. "The economic regulation is done separately as are the environmental regulation and regula- tion of regional authorities. From that stand- point, it's not clear that anything would really have changed [in the event of a Yes vote]," he argues. The Scottish Government's white paper on the implications of an independent Scotland in- cluded the idea of merging water regulation with the regulation of other utilities including rail, airports and communications, aiming to create a single regulator. There has been some discussion about merging regulation in England as well – last year's paper We Deserve Better from former Conservative Shadow Business Minister John Penrose's paper made a similar argument – and Sutherland believes the idea is still alive north of the border. "While there was not a Yes vote, the idea - as part of home rule or more devolution - is that there will be a combined regulator in Scotland for these different services," says Sutherland. "I suspect this is something that will feature in discussions about devolved powers, and it will have an impact on the Commission, and the industry in one way or another. Clearly we will work to make any transition as straightforward as we possibly could. "I think the Government has been fairly clear that any new entity that is set up to become that regulator will want to draw on the experience that already exists here in Scotland – that's what they've said – so it isn't simply a situation of the Commission suddenly becoming the Utilities Commission or something," he says. Cross-border co-operation Will the No vote have any effect on cross-border working in the water industry once the UK retail market opens up to competition in 2017? "No, I don't think it will," observes Suther- land. "Actually, it probably makes it easier in some ways in the sense that there is clarity that it would be a good thing for the experience we've had in Scotland to be shared with colleagues in England. "That has always been there, and has been for the past five years or so. There's not really any question over whether we should be col- laborating. Politically it may have been all a bit uncertain about how it was going to work. "Certainly from a Scottish standpoint, I think

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