Having spearheaded the parliamentary campaign on the issue, Dr Hudson was delighted to welcome an announcement from the Environment Secretary that water bosses are set to have their bonuses banned if a company has committed serious criminal pollution.
With the public uniting in their outrage at water companies that dump raw sewage into our precious waterways, Dr Hudson has brought water company bosses and regulators before the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee; backed new laws to stop polluters with unlimited fines; and continually advocated for the nation's waterways with speeches in the Commons, parliamentary questions and fought misinformation on the issue.
Specifically on bonuses, Dr Hudson wrote to Ofwat last year, urging the regulator to link water company boss dividends to the companies performance for customers and the environment. Read the full letter here.
Ofwat will now take forward a consultation to define the criteria of the ban. It would apply to all executive board members and Chief Executives and is expected to come into force later this year.
The measures form part of the government’s long-term strategy to tackle pollution, clean up British waters and ensure a plentiful supply for the future.
Dr Neil Hudson MP said:
"Last year alone £2.5 million was freely given to 10 water bosses in bonuses despite widespread pollution. This is not acceptable - I know this, the public knows it and so does our Environment Secretary who is absolutely right to take action.
"Our Government is the first in history to monitor storm overflow valves polluting our waterways, we are the first to enact unlimited fines for polluters and now we are going further by tying water company boss rewards to their performance."
Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said:
"No-one should profit from illegal behaviour and it’s time that water company bosses took responsibility for that.
"Tougher action is needed to address poor performance by water companies, which is why I am pleased Ofwat is going further today on bonus payments. In cases where companies have committed criminal breaches there is no justification whatsoever for paying out bonuses. It needs to stop now.
"I will shortly be setting out more detail on further steps to clean up our waters, including reducing the reliance on water company self-monitoring in order to hold them to account and drive the improvements we all need to see."
The change follows the Environment Secretary’s recent meeting with water company chief executives where he set out his expectations on performance – and also builds on Ofwat’s announcement last year to tighten restrictions on bonuses.
The policy would be expected to apply to FY24/25 bonuses from April onwards – but the government is clear that companies should follow these proposed new criteria for FY23/24 bonuses on a voluntary basis.
