Yorkshire’s four Metro Mayors are demanding answers from Yorkshire Water following revelations of \u2018egregious, undisclosed payments\u2019 to its chief executive.<\/p>\n
Last week, it emerged that Nicola Shaw has received \u00a31.3m in previously undisclosed extra pay since 2023 through an offshore parent company.<\/p>\n
Shaw received \u00a3660,000 from Yorkshire Water\u2019s Jersey-registered parent company, Kelda Holdings, in the 2023-24 and the 2024-25 financial years.<\/p>\n
However, the size of these fees was not revealed in the annual report of the regulated subsidiary, Yorkshire Water Services.<\/p>\n
Yorkshire Water responded that it had complied fully with the regulator Ofwat\u2019s requirements on pay disclosure and bonus payments. It added that the extra payments connected to work for Kelda Holdings were paid by shareholders, rather than bill payers.<\/p>\n
However, slamming the revelations as \u2018wholly unacceptable\u2019, the region’s four Mayors – Tracy Brabin, Luke Campbell, Oliver Coppard and David Skaith – have joined with the co-chairs of the Yorkshire Leaders Board and written to Yorkshire Water to demand \u2018clear answers\u2019 on behalf of customers and communities, as to why executive rewards continue to rise while service standards decline.<\/p>\n
Yorkshire Water customers are facing a 41% increase in bills – after the company spilt sewage into the region’s rivers and waterways for more than half a million hours in 2023.<\/p>\n
In the open letter, they said: \u201cThe mayors said they request an urgent meeting with you to discuss; the board’s strategy for rebuilding public trust and confidence, its position on the newly discovered executive remuneration arrangements and the governance structures that permitted these to be unrecorded payments<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe Yorkshire Water’s customers and communities deserve clear answers about how their money is being spent, why executive rewards continue to rise, and how this aligns with the sharp increase in bills and declining service standards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, Yorkshire Water was banned by the water regulator for awarding bonuses of its record of failure. In response, Yorkshire Water stated: “Our CEO, Nicola Shaw, had already made the decision that it would not be appropriate for her to receive an annual bonus this year due to the company’s performance on pollution and a recognition that we need to do better for the communities we serve and earn trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mayors added: \u201cThis contradiction between public statements and hidden payments is especially galling for customers who are being asked to pay more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week, a Yorkshire Water spokesperson responded to the revelation of the undisclosed payments, saying:\u00a0\u201cAs part of her CEO role at Yorkshire Water, Nicola Shaw also does some work for the benefit of Yorkshire Water\u2019s parent company, Kelda Group, including investor engagement, financial oversight, and management of the Kelda Group, which is recognised by a fee of \u00a3660,000 paid by shareholders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a conscious governance decision: we do not believe work done on investor-related activities should be paid for by Yorkshire Water customers\u2019 bills. In addition, there are no performance-related-pay arrangements at the Kelda Group level.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis fee, which has remained unchanged year on year, reflects the critical importance of the work during this period that was led by Nicola in securing long-term investment for Yorkshire Water.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was in part due to her leadership and engagement that shareholders directly invested \u00a3500m into Yorkshire Water to support the delivery of critical investment over the next five years, with a further commitment of \u00a3600m before the end of March 2027 \u2013 the largest single capital commitment to Yorkshire Water to date.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are determined to make improvements to our performance so we can deliver our part in creating a thriving Yorkshire, doing right for our customers and the environment.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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