Water company bosses have awarded themselves over £25 million in
bonuses and incentives since the last election, despite
repeatedly breaking the law with illegal sewage discharges, new
analysis from Labour has found.
The analysis found that nine water chief executives were paid a
staggering £10 million pounds in bonuses, £14 million in
incentives and £603,580 in benefits since 2019. At the same time,
water companies plan to hike customers’ bills by an extra £156 a
year to plug a financial gap.
In government, Labour will give the water regulator new powers to
ban the payment of bonuses to water bosses who are illegally
polluting our rivers, lakes and seas with toxic sewage.
By expanding Ofwat’s regulatory powers, water companies who fail
to meet environmental standards on sewage pollution will face
tough sanctions to ensure they cannot profit from
law-breaking.
The Tories’ hands-off approach has allowed Britain's waterways to
become an open sewer. Under Labour’s new plans, Ofwat could
have blocked six out of nine water bosses' bonuses last year
because of severe levels of illegal pollution.
Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary has outlined plans to put
the water industry under special measures and strengthen
regulation. Labour will:
- end self-monitoring and force all companies to monitor every
single water outlet so companies can no longer cover up illegal
sewage dumping;
- make water bosses face personal criminal liability for
extreme and persistent lawbreaking;
- introduce severe and automatic fines that no water
bosses can ignore for illegal sewage discharges.
A BBC Panorama investigation found evidence of a water company
covering up illegal sewage discharges, making sewage pollution
disappear from the official figures. Whistle-blowers at the
Environment Agency told Panorama a water company was wrongly
downgrading pollution dumping, and that the agency was failing to
conduct independent checks.
, Labour’s Shadow Environment
Secretary, said:
“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.
“With Labour, the polluter - not the public - will pay.”
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