| Topic: | :Re:Low Water Pressure | |
| Posted by: | Steve Taylor | |
| Date/Time: | 10/07/13 20:45:00 |
| From MSN News "The operations director of the UK's biggest water company, which was revealed last week to have paid no corporation tax this financial year, has been made an OBE. Robert Collington, who is one of eight directors on Thames Water's executive team, has been given the award for "services to consumers" in London and the Thames Valley area, "particularly during drought". The water firm's website says that Mr Collington, known as Bob, was appointed to the position of operations director last September and is responsible for 2,300 employees involved in their operations and maintenance. Last summer, Thames Water kept a hosepipe ban in place for two months despite record levels of rain falling in that period after the restrictions were enforced. They were one of seven water companies across southern and eastern England to bring in the bans after two unusually dry winters left some groundwater supplies and rivers as low as in the drought year of 1976. As well as paying no corporation tax, Thames Water received £5 million credit from the Treasury in a year in which revenues rose to £1.8 billion. It made £549 million in underlying pre-tax profits, hiking bills by an inflation-busting 6.7%, while customer satisfaction dipped and hundreds saw their homes flooded by sewage. The figures came in the wake of criticism by Jonson Cox, chairman of regulator Ofwat, that the high profits and tax-reducing corporate structures of some water companies were "morally questionable". Thames says its taxable profits are reduced by allowances on its £1 billion-a-year investment programme. Remaining gains are offset by tax losses claimed from other members of the group. Thames Water is owned by Kemble Water Holdings, whose main investors are ultimately controlled by the Australian-based Macquarie Group." |