debates/debates2025-09-04a conversation_2
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-09-04a conversation_2

Sally Jameson:What steps he is taking to increase the accountability of water company executives. \p Steve Reed: The previous Conservative Government quite disgracefully let water bosses awards themselves more than £112 million in bonuses that they did not deserve. This Government are putting a stop to that. We have banned the payment of unfair bonuses and brought in new jail sentences for pollution offences. The Tory era of profiting from pollution is over. \p Uma Kumaran: This weekend, for more than 30 hours, waste water from toilets, sinks and drains flooded the River Lea, affecting local communities and spreading to east London, including the wetlands in Stratford and Bow. Thames Water continues to dump sewage and waste water in our rivers at an alarming rate, all while company bosses pay themselves millions in bonuses. May I thank the Secretary of State for the work that this Government are doing to crack down on that appalling practice, and ask what he is doing to ensure that the British public are not paying for that failure after receiving rising water bills? What is he doing to secure the serious investment that is needed for the health of our rivers? \p Steve Reed: My hon. Friend is a great champion for her constituents in east London, on this matter as on many others. With her support, this Government have secured a record £104 billion to upgrade crumbling pipes and build sewage treatment works across the country, so that we can cut sewage pollution. We have also ringfenced customers’ money, so that it can never again be diverted away from investment to pay for bonuses and dividends while sewage pollution got worse. That, of course, includes in the Lea valley. \p Sally Jameson: This summer it was reported that the CEO of Yorkshire Water had received an extra payment from a parent company, in spite of recent admissions that it would not be appropriate to receive a bonus due to the company’s poor performance. Yorkshire Water has committed to improving transparency, but that is of little comfort to my constituents who are facing higher bills. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is wrong that those water bosses receive financial reward, when my constituents are facing higher bills and a shocking performance? \p Steve Reed: As my hon. Friend rightly says, that payment has outraged customers, and I have asked Ofwat to assess its legality as a matter of urgency. 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. \p John Lamont: State-owned Scottish Water is responsible for the water supply across Scotland. Last week, thousands of residents in the Scottish Borders were left without water for days, and terrible communication by Scottish Water made matters worse. We were facing a public health crisis, as well as an animal welfare crisis. Does the Secretary of State agree that the Scottish Government should undertake a full investigation into what happened and ensure that Scottish Water executives are held to account for their failure to act? \p Steve Reed: I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on raising that important issue, and I agree with the points he makes. The SNP Government in Scotland should be taking a much tougher line against such situations, as it is not acceptable. Levels of pollution in England are bad enough, but under the SNP in Scotland they are even worse, and the SNP Government should be fully ashamed—[Interruption.] \p Lindsay Hoyle: Order. Let us carry on. I call Mr Joshua Reynolds. \p Joshua Reynolds: The public will have been pleased to hear recently about the bonus ban for water company bosses, but they would have been equally surprised to hear that a water company boss in England was awarded a massive pay increase to £1.4 million, with the public being told that that was not a bonus but a two-year long incentive plan. What further steps can the Secretary of State put in place to ensure that water companies are playing fair, when those are the tactics that they use to circumvent the rules? \p Steve Reed: The hon. Gentleman raises an important point, which has been raised in the House before. That scheme was put in place and relates to years when the Conservative party was in government. That scheme would not be allowed today.