Milton Keynes councillors slam Anglian Water bosses for raking in £2m in pay and perks as people's water bills rise

City Liberal Democrats have Anglian Water for paying its bosses huge salaries and perks.

Their action comes after it was revealed that the company, which supplies all the water for MK, paid its executives an eye-watering £2,424,555 in pay and perks last year.

New analysis of Company House records shows the country’s water industry paid out a staggering £10 million in executive salaries last year, the highest on record.

Last year, Anglian Water rewarded their two executives with almost £1million in base pay, bonuses, and pensions.

This is despite the firm pumping raw sewage into open water in Milton Keynes dozens of times in 2022, say the city’s Lib Dems.

Figures from the Environment Agency show storm overflows were used 67 times within Milton Keynes’ local authority boundaries in 2022, discharging for a total of around 500 hours.

Yet, since 2020, the executives at the water firm have paid themselves more than £8 million pounds in pay and perks.

MK Lib Dems have now called for a ban on all CEO bonuses within the water industry, as well as the firms to be reformed as “public benefit companies.” The reforms would put an end to the profit before the environment and ensure their boards include environmental experts.

Liberal Democrat group leader on Milton Keynes City Council, Councillor Robin Bradburn, said: “Our local waterways are being pumped full of raw disgusting sewage, all whilst Anglian Water hand themselves insulting pay-outs. The whole thing stinks. These salaries and perks have reached eye-watering levels, yet Conservative Ministers refuse to act.

“This country’s water industry has become a gravy train where sewage and money flows freely. This is a scandal and happening on the Government’s watch."

Councillor Robert Exon who sits on the Internal Drainage Board, said: “It’s time that Anglian Water stopped putting profits and bonuses before the environment. The firm is clearly not working how it should and is not listening to local concerns on sewage discharges.”

Anglian Water customers could face an increase on their bills of £91 a year – including £12 to help pay for investment in sewerage infrastructure – the company said earlier this year.