Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of publishing the (a) criteria, (b) thresholds and (c) circumstances for making an application to the High Court for a water industry special administration order.

The law states that Special Administration can only be initiated if the company becomes insolvent or they are in such serious breach of their principal statutory duties or an enforcement order that it is inappropriate for the company to retain its licence.

In determining whether to apply to the court for a Special Administration Regime, the Secretary of State would have regard to all the relevant facts and matters pertaining at the time, acting in accordance with applicable statutory duties.