MID Dorset and North Poole MP Vikki Slade has demanded a bonus ban for Wessex Water’s bosses following new Ofwat report. 

Wessex Water will have to take £5.3m in penalties off customer bills after Ofwat published its annual performance report into the sector. 

The report revealed firms nationwide – including Wessex Water and South West Water, which has to pay £17.4m – continue to miss targets on pollution, leaks and customer satisfaction. 

It comes as the new government’s Water Bill is set to be debated in Parliament.  

(Image: Lib Dems)

The Liberal Democrat MP said the bill is only a “half-measure” and will her party table an amendment that would enforce an immediate ban on water company bosses’ bonuses. 

Mrs Slade said that the steps by the regulator announced today needed to be a “watershed” moment for Wessex Water and that it was “high time” action was taken on these polluting firms. 

She said: “For too long the Conservatives allowed water companies to ride roughshod over people here in Mid Dorset and North Poole, pumping their filthy sewage into our waterways all the while the bosses took home massive bonuses. 

“That must end. No longer should these people be personally rewarded for failing to protect our local environment all whilst hiking bills on people in our area. 

“Disappointingly, the new government’s bill is only a half-measure and nowhere near tough enough on these polluting firms.

“That is why I am proud to support the Liberal Democrats amendment to the bill, which would ban water company bosses' bonuses until leaks are fixed and sewage spills end.  

“Only then will we start to get a fair deal for people here in Mid Dorset and North Poole.” 

A Wessex Water spokesperson said: “While we’ve delivered improvements under almost every measure in Ofwat’s report, clearly more needs to be done and we’ve listened to our customers’ concerns in setting out plans to invest £3.65 billion in service improvements from 2025. We now need Ofwat to approve these plans.

“For the second year running, no bonuses relating to environmental performance have been paid to our directors. Bonuses are set by an independent remuneration committee and assessed against a range of different metrics.”

In an annual performance report on water firms, Ofwat said customer bills will be slashed in 2025-26 to reflect the penalties, with the total rebates calculated in December. 

Ofwat judges the performance of water companies in England and Wales each year against the “stretching” targets they set in 2019 for a five-year period until 2025. 

If they fail to meet these, Ofwat restricts the amount of money they can take from customers. Ofwat said the figures are provisional until it completes a review process.