The Secretary of the Environment has urged the executive director of Southern Water to reject a salary increase for a value of hundreds of thousands of pounds, saying that it was not “deserved.”
Lawrence Gosden, who has led Southern Water since 2022, received £ 691,000 as part of a long -term incentive plan this year in addition to its fixed payment of £ 687,000, according to the company's annual report.
It is understood that only half of this payment has received this year, taking its total payment to more than 1 million.
When asked on Sunday about the payment of Mr. Gosden, the Secretary of Environment Steve Reed told BBC Sunday with Laura Kuessberg that she was “outrageous” and implored Southern that “think about how this looks at his clients.”
He said: “The trust between customers and water companies is at the lowest point, and when paying their senior executives of that type, what message are sending to their customers?”
When asked if Mr. Gosden should reject the salary increase, Reed said: “I think it would be correct if he did.”
He added: “I don't think Southern Water has had a performance well enough to deserve that type of salary increase.”
Southern Water was forbidden to pay bonds last month for a so -called wastewater spill “category 1” at the New Forest, Hampshire, in August 2024.
According to new rules, companies are prohibited from paying bonds if they do not comply with environmental, consumption or financial standards, or are convicted of a criminal offense.
Southern Water has insisted that the payment to Mr. Gosden is not an advantage, but part of a long -term incentive plan established in 2023 and linked to a two -year effort to improve the company's performance.
It is also paid directly by shareholders instead outside the consumer invoices.
A Southern Water spokesman said that the salaries and benefits of its executive director were decided by a remuneration committee “following the protocols and rules established by OFWAT and in accordance with the law.”
They added: “The Lawrence Gosden 2025 package includes a relocation allocation and a long -term incentive plan paid by shareholders that marks improvements made during the delivery of our response plan. Both payments represent the practice of the common industry.”
Reed criticisms of Mr. Gosden's payment package occurred before the publication of a historical review of the water industry, which is expected to recommend radical reforms on how the sector is regulated, including the abolition of the Wat regulator.
The review follows the generalized criticisms of the water companies for granting large bonds to executives and paying significant dividends to shareholders, while there is a lack of objectives to invest in infrastructure and supervise an increase in wastewater pollution in the rivers of England.
Earlier this month, Southern Water was forced to ask its owner, the Australian investment firm Macquarie, for an additional one of £ 2.1 billion to help increase their finances with difficulties.
The company, which supplies 4.7 million people throughout the south and southeast of England, has accumulated almost 9 billion debt, which makes it one of the most indebted water firms in the United Kingdom behind Thames Water, previously also owned by Macquarie.
