MP says Thames Water has ‘failed residents spectacularly’
Will Stone has said Thames Water has failed the people of Swindon spectacularly and called on the company to make urgent improvements
Swindon North MP Will Stone has said Thames Water has failed the people of Swindon spectacularly and called on the company to make urgent improvements
Mr Stone, along with two other MPs, Yuan Yang MP for Earley and Woodley and Crawley’s MP Peter Lamb met the water company’s Director of Corporate Finance, Fred Maroudas.
Afterwards, Mr Stone said the company had “already failed our constituents so spectacularly” and called on it to makes significant changes.
He said: “In Swindon North, I’ve heard from families dealing with problems which Thames Water have failed to resolve – flooding, sewage overflows, water outages, and more. Others have raised concerns about pollution in our local rivers, where the company have been pumping sewage.
“My constituents are being asked to foot the bill for Thames Water’s failures, with the average bill going up by 31 per cent this year, all while the company pays out millions to executives.
“I joined Labour colleagues in signing this letter because Thames Water needs to be held to account for their persistent failings. My constituents deserve answers to their concerns, and I hope that increased scrutiny on the company from Parliament will help get it to them.
At the meeting, the MPs presented Mr. Maroudas with a letter co-signed by 27 Labour MP colleagues in the Thames Water area.
The MPs’ demands for action follow customers facing bill increases of up to 50 per cent , continued river and waterway sewage pollution, and severe customer service failures – all while continuing to pay out millions in bonuses to bosses despite government action to prevent them.
The group called on Thames Water to:
Claw back the £2.5m of bonuses paid to senior executives in April and scrap plans to pay the same package again in December and instead reinvest the money into water infrastructure.
Drop its complaint to Ofwat requesting leniency over sewage fines. The group strongly welcome the Environment Secretary’s commitment that all water companies will be treated equally and under the same rules; Thames Water is no exception.
Commit to coming into Parliament by the end of this year to meet with MPs regarding their constituency casework.
Mr Stone added: “Thames Water told us that they’re committed to making improvements, and he is committed to holding them to account on these.
“Thames Water have agreed to a scrutiny meeting with the Thames Water Watch group when Parliament returns in September, and I’m looking forward to receiving their plans for improvement in Swindon North.”
A Thames Water spokesman described the meeting as “very constructive”, and said: “No executive directors have received performance-related pay this year. A management retention programme was established as part of our liquidity extension with the objective of retaining senior management during a complex recapitalisation.
“We have paused its implementation. None of the retention payments have been funded by customers. The company’s chief executive is not party to the MRP and has received no payments.”
The spokesperson said the company was making “record levels of investment we have planned to meet our commitments to customers and the environment, and we are committed to improving outcomes for the environment and its customers”.
“In order to be investable, we and prospective investors have needed to engage in discussions with our regulators about regulatory easements.”