Northumbrian Water Ltd v Water Services Regulation Authority
[2024] EWCA Civ 842
26 Jul 2024
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The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment, dismissing Northumbrian Water Limited’s appeal against an earlier High Court decision related to the financial consequences of water supply interruptions caused by Storm Arwen.
The Court confirmed that Ofwat has a discretion, rather than a duty, to relieve water companies of financial impacts arising out of water supply interruptions caused by civil emergencies, and that the scope of the discretion extends beyond considering the company’s performance in relation to water supply interruptions. The Court also decided that Ofwat did not have any duty to prescribe a policy in relation to the exercise of that discretion, casting doubt on the principles identified by Fordham J regarding the common law’s recognition of a “duty of prescription” in R (ZLL) v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2022] EWHC 85 (Admin) at paragraph 7(4).
The Court of Appeal judgment may be found here. The High Court decision is available here.
Thomas de la Mare KC and David Lowe acted for Northumbrian Water Ltd (together with Christopher Leigh of KPMG LLP).
Kieron Beal KC, Ajay Ratan and Tom Lowenthal acted for Ofwat.
