‘Block Yorkshire Water CEO bonuses until water pollution addressed’, says Scarborough and Whitby MP
Scarborough and Whitby’s MP has said she supports blocking bonuses for Yorkshire Water’s boss if the company continues to pollute waterways.
Alison Hume, the MP for Scarborough and Whitby, has backed new legislation on the water industry which she said would “boost accountability” and would “mean that the chief executive of Yorkshire Water will no longer receive her bonus unless she meets high standards in protecting the environment and customers”.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill going through Parliament aims to “significantly” strengthen the power of water industry regulators to bring criminal charges and issue severe fines for wrongdoing.
Poor bathing water quality particularly affects Scarborough, where this year the South Bay has retained the lowest rating of “poor” and the North Bay dropped from “good” to “sufficient”.
Councillors, residents and businesses have also warned about the various negative effects of water pollution on the country’s first seaside resort as well as on neighbouring towns and villages such as Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, December 16, Ms Hume noted that last year Nicola Shaw, Yorkshire Water’s CEO, received a performance bonus worth £371,000 and a salary and pension package worth £657,000.
Campaign groups have called on Ms Shaw to repay the bonus which was handed out in the same period as the firm was fined £47m for historical sewage spills and poor customer service.
Recent analysis by the BBC has shown that “debts and dividend payments swallow up a third of the money paid by a typical household to Yorkshire Water”.
Yorkshire Water said that its plans for 2025-2030 “include an £8.2bn investment in our region, our largest ever environmental investment, including £165m to improve our operations at the coast to reduce overflows and improve bathing water quality”.
The MP for Scarborough and Whitby also highlighted how poor water quality had forced local surf instructor Steve Crawford to close his business due to being unable to guarantee the health and well-being of his surf students when in the water.
Ms Hume noted how the local Wave Project, which works to improve children’s mental health and well-being through its award-winning surf therapy programme, had to regularly cancel sessions at short notice “because of the poor water quality, which causes immense upset for youngsters and their families”.