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05
Sept
Ofwat to 'assess legality' of extra £1.3 million paid to Yorkshire Water boss
The government has asked water industry regulator Ofwat to "assess the legality” of £1.3 million in extra payments to Yorkshire Water's chief executive, Nicola Shaw.
Last month, Yorkshire Water confirmed Ms Shaw had received payments of £660,000 in both 2023-24 and 2024-25 for work such as “investor engagement, financial oversight and management of the Kelda Group”.
The company defended the payments, saying they were made by its parent company, Kelda Holdings, and added that the money was paid by shareholders rather than bill-payers.
But the payments nevertheless came in for widespread criticism at a time when the company’s performance is regarded as poor; water bills are high and huge investment is still needed in the pipe network to plug leaks and prevent river pollution.
Yorkshire Water was one of six firms earlier this year banned from paying “unfair” bonuses to executives.
Responding to questions in the House of Commons yesterday (September 4), Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the payments had “outraged customers”.
He said:
I will not tolerate any company attempting to circumvent this government’s ban on unfair bonuses through exorbitant salary increases, secret bonuses, payments through parent companies, or any other deception.
If Ofwat finds that the rules have been broken, companies will face sanctions, including fines imposed at a level that will deter future abuses.
A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said the payments had been published on the company's website, but it was “now committed to disclosing the value of any Kelda-related payments for our CEO and CFO as part of Yorkshire Water's accounts in future”.
They added:
We recognise the strength of feeling that the issue has generated.
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