Water bosses trouser £25million in bonuses regardless of sewage dumping scandal
Water firm bosses have awarded themselves over £25million in bonuses and advantages regardless of dumping sewage in rivers, lakes and seas.
Nine water chief executives have been paid a staggering £10million in bonuses, £14million in incentives and £603,580 in advantages since 2019, in keeping with evaluation by Labour. At the identical time, water firms plan to hike clients’ payments by an additional £156 a yr by 2030 to plug a monetary hole and scale back sewage discharges.
If it will get into Government, Labour plans to present the water regulator Ofwat new powers to ban the fee of bonuses to water bosses who’re illegally polluting our rivers, lakes and seas with poisonous sewage. By increasing Ofwat’s regulatory powers, water firms who fail to satisfy environmental requirements on sewage air pollution will face powerful sanctions to make sure they can’t revenue from law-breaking, the social gathering mentioned.
Labour mentioned that beneath its new plans Ofwat might have blocked six out of 9 water bosses’ bonuses final yr due to extreme ranges of unlawful air pollution. Last Autumn, the Government was discovered to have probably damaged the regulation by not protecting water firms in verify.
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) mentioned tips “possibly allow untreated sewage discharges to occur more regularly than intended by the law”, whereas water companies go unpunished. Ministers have been accused of letting perpetrators get away with “environmental vandalism on an industrial scale”.
Shadow Environment Secretary Steve Reed mentioned: “This Conservative Government has wilfully turned a blind eye to corruption at the heart of the water industry. The result is stinking, toxic sewage destroying our countryside, and consumers facing higher bills while failing water bosses pocket millions in bonuses.
“Labour will put failing water companies under special measures. We will strengthen regulation so law-breaking water bosses face criminal charges, and give the regulator new powers to block the payment of any bonuses until water bosses have cleaned up their filth.”
He added: “With Labour, the polluter – not the public – will pay.”
