The banned bonuses for Yorkshire Water CEO and Director of Finance signals a headache for the executives overseeing shocking performance, under delivery, potential criminal inaction, and mismanagement of our waterways.

In 2024 the number of spills (untreated sewage discharges) in Yorkshire was 68,164 with a total hour spill of 430,263 hours. 84.4% were attributed to ‘hydraulic capacity failures’ ie insufficient capacity in the network. This means there is not enough capacity in the sewage network to cope with wastewater and typical rainfall. This is an outrage. Customers have paid enough for our sewage system to be properly maintained and Yorkshire Water has failed to do its job whilst lining shareholder pockets. Whilst progress has been made in pockets across Yorkshire where local people have campaigned for change, the overall picture is of gross failure.

“As customers and bill payers we have been persistently told by the CEO that Yorkshire Water is improving and is tackling its problems, promising ‘jam tomorrow’. But tomorrow never arrives.” says Karen Shackleton of Ilkley Clean River Group

The Director of Finance told the Environment & Rural Affairs Select Committee earlier this year that it has never had enough money to maintain its sewage system.

“Yorkshire water has faced criminal investigations for illegal pollution and court appearances, and has had ‘penalties’ from Ofwat for failure to maintain its assets that have been little more than moving the money deckchairs, whilst it continues to raise more debt and pay out dividends. This ban on bonuses is another nail in the coffin of investor and executive greed”. says Di Lury of Ilkley Clean River Group

“The company owners have continued to pay out bonuses because the CEO and DoF have been doing exactly what shareholders want – making profit from pollution.” says Owen Wells of Ilkley Clean River Group.

“Stopping bonuses will be, at least for now, an immediate impact on the executives pay packet, but as has been the case with all other penalties we expect the water companies to find a work around. This is another signal that the water sector is totally broken. Across the country the public has been calling for public ownership to reduce costs and save our environment. Stopping bonuses is not the answer, a radical shake up is needed.” Prof Becky Malby, Ilkley Clean River Group.

Extent of Bonuses

The annual report 2023-24 shows the potential bonus for 2024-25 to be:

Nicola Shaw CEO salary without bonus to be circa 800K and with bonus between £1.5M and £2M

Paul Inman the Director Of Finance salary without bonus is circa £550K and with the bonus between £800-950,000.

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Yorkshire Water Performance Report 2023-24 is available here. these figures at page 393 and 394.
Yorkshire Water recent performance and associated penalties
1. Failed to deliver all its promised improvement projects in the last funding cycle – but it has been allowed to ‘roll forwards’ the money to the next 5 years.
2. Neglected its sewage infrastructure so badly that 85% of raw sewage discharges are because there is not enough capacity in the sewage system. Paul Inman even told the Environment Select Committee that Yorkshire Water hadn’t had enough money to maintain its infrastructure. But the ‘penalty’ has been to put £36.4m into improving storm overflows (thats the day job so hardly a penalty), and to ‘donate’ a couple of million to one of its partnerships, and to finally produce a plan to make sure all its storm overflows are legal.
3. Failed to maintain a sewage works in York and was taken to court by the Environment Agency and fined £350,000