Why did the Minister propose replacing the "increase (decrease) in reserves" line item with "increase (decrease) in working capital" in water services funding impact statements, and what advice, if any, did the Minister receive on whether that change adequately captures the liquidity position of water service providers operating under a ring-fenced model?

Answer

I am advised that the “increase (decrease) in reserves” item is intended to capture where a council has retained a sum of money for the purposes of applying it to an activity different from the activity where the income was earned. Because water services income is ringfenced it cannot be applied to expenses outside of the water services activity, and so the item is redundant for water services FIS. I was advised that a more appropriate item would be “increase (decrease) in working capital” which would provide a more useful measure of water service providers’ liquidity.