The Secretary of State has confirmed the reconstitution of the Ouse and Derwent Internal Drainage Board (IDB) by Statutory Instrument 2026/182, made on 26 February 2026 and in force from 27 February 2026. The Order confirms, with modifications, a Scheme prepared by the Environment Agency under section 3 of the Land Drainage Act 1991, following the statutory confirmation procedure.
Under the Order, the Board is reconstituted to comprise 11 elected members, reduced from 22. For the first term only, those members will be appointed by the Secretary of State as a transitional step, after which elections will proceed in accordance with Schedule 1 to the 1991 Act and any regulations made under it.
The Ouse and Derwent Internal Drainage District is consolidated into a single electoral division. Provisions in the Yorkshire Water Authority (Ouse and Derwent Internal Drainage District) Order 1977 that divided the district into three electoral divisions cease to have effect, and the First Schedule to that 1977 instrument is to be disregarded.
The Order sets a specific timetable for transitional terms. Appointed members will hold office until the expiry of one year from the first occurrence of 1 November following the day of appointment. On appointments made in late February 2026, that cycle would run to 1 November 2027 before routine electoral arrangements resume.
Operational continuity is preserved. All property, rights and obligations of the Board immediately before reconstitution automatically vest in the reconstituted Board on commencement, ensuring works programming, billing and contractual commitments continue without interruption.
The instrument records compliance with the statutory process. The Environment Agency prepared the Scheme; the Secretary of State published a notice of intent and notified relevant local authorities and other specified bodies under Schedule 3 to the 1991 Act; no objections were made before the Scheme was confirmed, with modifications set out in the Schedule to the Order.
The change is to governance, not statutory functions. Internal drainage boards carry out land drainage and maintenance of ordinary watercourses within their districts and are funded through drainage rates on agricultural land and special levies raised on local authorities, set by each board under the Land Drainage Act 1991.
For occupiers and charging authorities, the immediate effect is electoral scale and representation. With a single district-wide constituency and fewer seats, candidates and electors will engage on a district basis. Subsequent appointments and elections will follow the statutory cycle anchored to 1 November under Schedule 1.
According to the instrument’s explanatory note, no full impact assessment has been produced as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen. The Order is signed for the Secretary of State by William Harrington, Head of Rural Flood Risk at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Order extends to England and Wales but applies to England only, reflecting the territorial application common to land drainage instruments enacted under the UK statutory framework.