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1124875

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Water Companies: Insolvency
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent retailers in the water market who sell to SME customers from failing.
	tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
	uin	HL15550
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>When considering applications from potential retailers, Ofwat, the economic regulator for the water industry, considers whether it would have sufficient financial resources to finance its obligations under the law and to deliver its business plan. Once the retailer enters the market, it is for the retailer to ensure it operates efficiently and is able to continue to operate. In any functioning market some retailers will fail. If a retailer were to fail, as has been seen in other sectors, Ofwat would step in and ensure affected customers are allocated to a new supplier in a seamless way.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 20/05/2019 14:58:48 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

1124878

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Water Companies: Competition
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions there have been between the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about the need to ensure that small business customers benefit from the non-household retail water market in England.
	tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
	uin	HL15553
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>Ofwat are the economic regulator for the water industry, and it regulates and monitors the operation of the retail business market. Ofwat published their first annual report on the market, Open for Business<em>,</em> in July 2018. It identified that small and medium sized business customers are not yet experiencing the same benefits that larger customers receive from the retail market, and raised a number of issues that could be affecting this.</p><p> </p><p>Ofwat and Mosl, the market operator, have been taking a number of actions to investigate further and address these issues, including for SMEs.</p><p> </p><p>Ofwat is currently undertaking a further assessment of the market with a view to publishing their second annual report in July.</p><p> </p><p>My Department has ongoing discussions with Ofwat and Mosl about these issues and will discuss the outcomes of the second annual report with Ofwat in due course.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Minister Coffey, the Minister responsible for this policy area, requested that the then Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility, Margot James MP, use her channels to advertise and promote to small business customers that they can benefit from the non-household retail water market in England.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 21/05/2019 13:37:33 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

1124877

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Water Companies: Competition
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have undertaken to assess the effectiveness of the Scottish non-household retail water market in encouraging switching by SMEs when compared with the English non-household retail water market.
	tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
	uin	HL15552
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (a) undertook some analysis of the Scottish SME non-household retail water market during the initial planning stages of opening up the English market; and (b) works closely with Ofwat as they review the English non-household retail market and its operation since opening, including with regard to SMEs.</p><p> </p><p>Ofwat monitors and assesses the non-household retail water market in England on an ongoing basis. It commissioned customer research to gauge directly customers’ experiences of the market, including views on the interactions between the markets in England, Scotland and Wales. This information was published in July 2018 as the Ofwat <a href="https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ORS-final-report-Non-household-customer-insight-survey.pdf" target="_blank">customer insight survey</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Ofwat’s first annual assessment of the market, <a href="https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/State-of-the-market-report-2017-18-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">Open for Business</a>, also published in July 2018, highlighted a number of areas in which to achieve better outcomes for business customers in England, including SMEs.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble grouped question UIN HL15551 question first answered 20/05/2019 15:51:11 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

1124876

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Water Companies: Competition
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment has been made by (1) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and (2) Ofwat of the (a) Scottish SME non-household retail water market, and (b) the English SME non-household retail water market.
	tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
	uin	HL15551
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (a) undertook some analysis of the Scottish SME non-household retail water market during the initial planning stages of opening up the English market; and (b) works closely with Ofwat as they review the English non-household retail market and its operation since opening, including with regard to SMEs.</p><p> </p><p>Ofwat monitors and assesses the non-household retail water market in England on an ongoing basis. It commissioned customer research to gauge directly customers’ experiences of the market, including views on the interactions between the markets in England, Scotland and Wales. This information was published in July 2018 as the Ofwat <a href="https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ORS-final-report-Non-household-customer-insight-survey.pdf" target="_blank">customer insight survey</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Ofwat’s first annual assessment of the market, <a href="https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/State-of-the-market-report-2017-18-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">Open for Business</a>, also published in July 2018, highlighted a number of areas in which to achieve better outcomes for business customers in England, including SMEs.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble grouped question UIN HL15552 question first answered 20/05/2019 15:51:11 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering