FOLLOWING Ofwat's announcement yesterday that water companies cannot use customer money to fund executive bonuses, Sarah Gibson, Liberal Democrat MP for Chippenham Constituency, is calling on the Government for an urgent outright ban on bonuses for water company bosses in law.
So far three water firms have been directly blocked from using customer money to pay bonuses collectively worth £1.6m.
While some firms voluntarily used shareholder money to fund boss bonuses, Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Dwr Cymru Welsh Water were reprimanded by the regulator Ofwat for using customer funds.
In total, water firms paid a total of £9.3 million in bonuses over the last financial year, Ofwat admitted. The Liberal Democrats say yesterday's ruling doesn't go far enough and are pushing for changes to the Government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill, which would see a ban on water company bonuses until sewage spills end and leaks are fixed.
Yesterday evening, 20th November, Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords secured assurances from the government Ofwat will ban bonuses when water companies have committed pollution incidents, including sewage spills.
Sarah Gibson MP, Liberal Democrat MP for Calne, Chippenham, Corsham, and Royal Wootton Bassett said:
“Whether it is raw sewage coming into people’s homes when the Marden flooded in Calne, pollutants in the water causing fish to die in Jubilee Lake in Royal Wootton Bassett, or sewage overflows into the Avon at Lacock water firms have been putting profit before people for far too long.
“The previous Conservative Government gave water companies a free pass to dump filth into our precious waterways while taking home eyewatering bonuses on top of already inflated salaries.
“The Government now needs to listen to the Liberal Democrats and finally put a stop to it, by prioritising the Water Bill in parliament and enshrining a ban on bonuses as quickly as possible.
“Those who actively wreck local environments in Wiltshire and across the country should not be rewarded for doing so. Enough is enough.”
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