Yorkshire's four metro mayors have written to Yorkshire Water's chair expressing "serious concerns" over reports of undisclosed extra pay to the chief executive via an offshore parent company. The letter demands urgent answers about payments worth £1.3 million reportedly made to Nicola Shaw through Jersey-incorporated Kelda Holdings.
Water regulator Ofwat is examining whether the payments made between April 2023 and March 2025 complied with rules banning bonuses for water company bosses. The Government recently barred six water companies from paying bonuses to executives because of failings over pollution as part of its response to public fury at widespread sewage spills, crumbling infrastructure and rising bills.
Water bills set to soar
Yorkshire Water was among six companies banned from paying bonuses and was recently given the green light to raise average annual household bills by 41% to £607 by 2030. The mayors - Tracy Brabin, Luke Campbell, Oliver Coppard and David Skaith - alongside Yorkshire Leaders Board co-chairs asked chair Vanda Murray for an urgent meeting to discuss the undisclosed payments first reported by the Guardian.
In the letter, they called the payments "wholly unacceptable" and demanded "clear answers" on behalf of Yorkshire's customers and communities. "As elected representatives of Yorkshire's communities, we share the public dismay at these revelations," they wrote.
Trust fundamentally breached
The mayors said the concealment of payments from annual reports and Shaw's own public statements that she would decline bonuses demonstrate a "fundamental breach of trust". "This contradiction between public statements and hidden payments is especially galling for customers who are being asked to pay more," they wrote.
The letter cited the company being ordered to pay £40 million for excessive sewage spills, while not one river in the region is considered to be in good overall health by regulators. Last week, Yorkshire Water was also fined £865,000 at Sheffield Magistrates' Court for illegally discharging chlorinated water resulting in the death of local wildlife.
Rebuilding public trust
The mayors told Murray they wish to discuss the board's strategy for rebuilding public trust and its commitment to transparent reporting of all executive pay. "We 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," they wrote.
Yorkshire Water said it complied fully with Ofwat's requirements on pay disclosure and bonus payments and that the Kelda Holdings payments were paid by shareholders rather than bill payers. A spokesperson said: "We understand the strength of feeling on the items outlined in their letter and welcome the opportunity to meet with the local mayors and council leaders to discuss these in more detail."
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
