Bonuses banned for 10 English water bosses over sewage air pollution

Bonuses for 10 water corporate executives in England, together with the boss of Thames Water, will probably be banned with fast impact over severe sewage air pollution, as a part of new powers introduced in by means of the Labour executive.

The best executives of six water firms who’ve overseen essentially the most severe air pollution occasions won’t obtain efficiency rewards this yr, the surroundings mentioned.

The firms – Thames Water, Anglian Water, Southern Water, United Utilities, Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water – are accountable for essentially the most severe class of sewage air pollution into rivers and seas, all of which might be, or had been, below prison investigation by means of the Environment Agency.

Under powers in Labour’s Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, the regulator, Ofwat, is now ready to prohibit bonuses for water executives the place an organization fails to satisfy key requirements on environmental and monetary efficiency, or is convicted of a prison offence.

In the previous 10 years, executives on the 9 major water and sewerage firms had been paid £112m in bonuses whilst sewage air pollution greater to a report closing yr of 2,487 occasions.

Reed mentioned: “Water company bosses, like anyone else, should only get bonuses if they’ve performed well – certainly not if they’ve failed to tackle water pollution. Undeserved bonuses will now be banned as part of the government’s plan to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.”

Bonuses had been banned for Thames Water’s leader government, Chris Weston, and Steve Buck, its leader monetary officer. Southern Water, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water have additionally had bonuses banned for his or her leader executives and leader monetary officials.

Thames, which is suffering to keep away from collapsing into brief state possession because it labours below money owed of £20bn, used to be centered each for its monetary disasters and for seven primary air pollution occasions, which came about in Slough, in Berkshire; Three Rivers District; the Chilterns; Sevenoaks; Reigate; Runnymede and Enfield closing yr.

Andy Pymer, the manager finance officer of Wessex Water, had his bonus banned over the corporate’s prison conviction closing November for sewage leaks that killed hundreds of fish, which the corporate didn’t document.

Mark Thurston, the boss of Anglian Water, is having his bonus banned for a significant air pollution match in Peterborough closing September.

The different executives who might not be allowed to take bonuses are: Lawrence Gosden and Stuart Ledger, CEO and CFO respectively of Southern Water; Louise Beardmore and Phil Aspin, CEO and CFO respectively of United Utilities; and Nicola Shaw and Paul Inman, CEO and CFO respectively of Yorkshire Water.

Last month the Guardian printed Reed deliberate to block Thames Water from paying separate retention bonuses to senior executives from a £3bn emergency mortgage that used to be intended to stabilise the corporate’s budget and put it aside from cave in.

Thames’s chair, Adrian Montague, defended the deliberate rewards of 50% of wage, arguing senior managers have been the corporate’s “most precious resource”. Thames later introduced it used to be pausing the retention bonus bills and Montague used to be pressured to apologise to MPs closing month, announcing he could have “misspoken” when he claimed lenders had insisted at the bonuses.

On Tuesday, america personal fairness company KKR pulled out of a £4bn rescue deal for Thames Water, placing the corporate’s long run unsure and lengthening the possibility of a short lived nationalisation. KKR is known to have made up our minds the political dangers of proudly owning Thames have been too nice, and it used to be additionally involved concerning the deficient state of the corporate’s belongings.

The bonus ban comes into position in an instant as a part of what Reed promised to be more difficult enforcement in opposition to failing water firms. Last yr by myself water executives have been paid bonuses of £7.6m whilst overseeing report ranges of air pollution.

Reed has been accused of disposing of traders into England’s afflicted water trade by means of his tricky stance. The Conservative MP Victoria Atkins accused him within the Commons of undermining the rescue maintain detrimental rhetoric.

But Reed mentioned: “I will make no apology for tackling the poor behaviour of water companies and water company executives that took place under the previous government and that we are correcting.”

Becky Malby, of the marketing campaign crew Ilkley Clean River, welcomed the bonus bans however mentioned they have been additional proof that the privatised trade may now not be relied on.

“We are seeing fines, bonus bans and criminal investigations into water companies. This shows us just how broken the system is,” she mentioned. “The public has consistently wanted water companies to be publicly owned. What is it about this plethora of evidence that makes the government confident that the current privatised system can deliver?”

James Wallace, leader government of River Action, mentioned: “Banning bonuses is a welcome step from the government. But we won’t end pollution for profit until water companies are refinanced and governed for public benefit. Any attempt to inflate base pay as a workaround must be stamped out. The era of rewarding criminal leadership must end. No more cream for the fat cats.”

Caroline Voaden, MP for South Devon, mentioned it used to be baffling why South West Water bosses had now not had their bonuses banned. “It’s hard to think of a company more deserving to have its boss’s bonuses banned than South West Water,” she mentioned. “Not only did the company preside over the cryptosporidium outbreak in the relevant financial year, but in June, just weeks after the outbreak, South West Water’s CEO saw her salary increased by £300,000, proving their absolute contempt for affected customers.”

A spokesperson for Water UK, which represents the trade, mentioned: “Performance-related pay is independently determined by remuneration committees, which will abide by the laws and regulations set by government. Water companies are focused on investing a record £104bn over the next five years to secure our water supplies, end sewage entering our rivers and seas and support economic growth.”