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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what factors were taken into account in setting the criteria for granting retail licences in the deregulated water retail market following the coming into force of the Water Act 2014.

Entrants to the new retail market will be required to hold one of the new Water Supply and Sewerage licences (WSSL). There are existing retail licences under the current regime, and the licence conditions and applications process for that regime are being built on to develop the new regime. Further information is available on Ofwat's website.

In June 2015, Ofwat consulted on the form of the new WSSL licences, and the proposed process for issuing them ('Licensing and policy issues in relation to the opening of the non-household retail market - a consultation'). The applications process for these licences will open from April 2016. Further information, and a copy of the consultation, is available on Ofwat's website.