Ex-water board chair urges change

Mr Alexander said Scottish Water could go on as normal

The former chair of Scottish Water has urged ministers to consider mutualising the publicly-owned utility.

Ministers have ruled out such a move, which they said could be seen as a "Trojan horse towards privatisation".

Ex-Scottish Water chairman Alan Alexander said regulation would ensure customers were served properly.

Supporters of mutualisation, including the Scottish Tories and Liberal Democrats, said such a change could save the taxpayer £180m each year.

Mr Alexander told BBC Scotland's Politics Show Scottish Water was facing an investment backlog of up to 50 years, but added the authority was now very efficient.

There are other parts of the public sector which need to be financed from taxation income - Scottish Water doesn't Alan Alexander Former Scottish Water chairman

"I've said privately when I was there - publicly now - that, as Scottish Water became more efficient, it would become very, very attractive to politicians to stop putting money into it," he said.

"I can see a position where politicians say 'let it be borrowed in the private market'.

"They can do that much more easily because the company is now efficient and because - and this is key - the real protection to the Scottish Water customer is regulation rather than ownership."

Mr Alexander said Scottish Water could go on as it was, but added: "I would advise finding a way to make it possible for Scottish Water to maintain its drive towards efficiency without drawing money from the public purse.

"There are other parts of the public sector which need to be financed from taxation income - Scottish Water doesn't."

Although the Scottish Government has committed to a review of Scottish Water, First Minister Alex Salmond has expressed "difficulties and doubts" about mutualisation.

He said any savings made by such a move would not be realised immediately.

The Conservatives said they wanted to see Scottish Water run in a similar way to Welsh Water, which has no shareholders, is owned by a not for profit company and is run solely for the benefit of customers.