Yorkshire Water given one-star rating as bosses' bonusses 'banned'
Bosses at Yorkshire Water will not receive regular bonuses this year, after the utility company was given a one-star rating by regulators.
It follows the first ever joint report from the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and Ofwat, in a bid to create more integrated oversight, ahead of the creation of a single new water regulator.
The rating - the lowest available - comes as pollution incidents rose by 72 per cent in 12 months, from 151 to 260, the report found.
While the rating means bonuses at Yorkshire Water and five other companies will be automatically banned, the Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said she “recognises that executives are continuing to be rewarded in spite of persistent underperformance.”
In July, Yorkshire Water’s chief executive Nicola Shaw told the Yorkshire Post a £660,000 from Yorkshire Water’s offshore parent company, on top of the £732,000 pay package, was not a ‘back-door’ bonus, but confirmed she does not have any separate email address or working days for separate work done for Jersey-registered parent firm Kelda Holdings, which was given as the reason for the payment.
Defra yesterday said “Further details on strengthening the bonus ban are expected to be set out in the coming weeks.”
Dame Angela said: "Water companies have let the public down time and time again, and today's report is further proof that root-and-branch reform cannot wait.
"People are sick of excuses. They want clean rivers, lakes and seas, and the certainty that every pound they pay is being invested wisely, not wasted.
"I am demanding answers from the companies that are failing, and I’ll be shining a spotlight on the worst offences around the country. We are getting on with the job of building a water system that finally works for the people who pay for it."
Defra said ministers will meet the chief executives of underperforming companies to ‘demand answers’ to both performance and the delivery of key infrastructure improvements.
A Yorkshire Water spokeswoman said: “Our environmental performance last year was not good enough and we understand that customers will be disappointed by this result.
“In particular, we need to reduce pollution incidents and improve the reliability of our environmental performance."
Asked specifically about the ban on regular bonuses, they said: “Earlier this year, Nicola Shaw made the decision that it would not be appropriate to receive a bonus due to our performance in the previous financial year, which was not good enough – particularly in relation to our environmental impact.
“We are focused on improving our performance through both operational changes and significant investment in our assets, environment, processes, and people."
The water company has repeatedly said it does not consider the offshore payments to be a bonus.