Speeches by Roca.

“Is that something the remuneration committee might consider for the future, bearing in mind the way families are struggling with the cost of living at the moment?”

“Susan, your company approved £45 million in dividend payments for ’24-’25, which was a 265% increase from the £12 million in ’22-’23. Can you just talk us through how you can justify such a dramatic increase with the financial strain that households are facing at the moment?”

“Because the initial announcement was immediately after the cryptosporidium incident, which we talked about earlier, and the public were a little bit angry that you were announcing an increase in dividend immediately after that crisis.”

“My contribution will be brief. I start by thanking the Minister and Lord Hanson in the other place for their hard work with others on bringing the Bill to fruition. I also thank them for the kindness and courtesy they have shown my constituents Figen Murray and her husband Stuart. I echo what the Minister said earlier …”

“But there is no explicit measure for you to keep people’s bills down in the way that your pay is set. Because if the company is incredibly efficient it might just return more money to its shareholders, might it not, rather than reduce cost?”

“I feel like Abraham Maslow is probably turning in his grave that you would not be incentivised with that base salary. In the basket of measures the remuneration committee uses to look at whether you should receive the EIP, affordability for the customer of their bills is not part of that basket of measures, is it?”

“It is a very large number and customers will be considering value for money. I do not want to misquote you, but after receiving the bonus, you defended the plan to increase bills by 41% by saying that shareholders wanted to make sure you were kept incentivised. Were you not incentivised by the £657,000?”

“Then on top—which is the controversial element, I suppose, although that is already a great deal of money—there is the EIP short-term element, which I guess is what people would consider a bonus of £371,000. Do you feel that is a fair approach to remuneration?”

“Is that something the remuneration committee might consider for the future, bearing in mind the way families are struggling with the cost of living at the moment?”

“Then in January, customers are facing, I think, a 28% increase in bills over the next period but there was a similar announcement of an increase in dividend again. Does that seem fair to you?”

“Because the initial announcement was immediately after the cryptosporidium incident, which we talked about earlier, and the public were a little bit angry that you were announcing an increase in dividend immediately after that crisis.”

“Susan, your company approved £45 million in dividend payments for ’24-’25, which was a 265% increase from the £12 million in ’22-’23. Can you just talk us through how you can justify such a dramatic increase with the financial strain that households are facing at the moment?”

“When did you decide not to pay the dividend? It was announced and then you decided that it was not appropriate to pay it.”

“When did those two events happen?”

“The intention is to increase the dividend payments with inflation by CPIH?”

“We touched on pay earlier, so I understand your overall package was £860,000 in ’22-’23. Is that right?”

“And what is it this year?”

“Again, that is quite a large sum of money. Do you think that is fair remuneration for the work that you do?”

“Of the measures the committee uses to set your pay, there are over 40 from what I could see but affordability to the customer of their bills was not one of them. Did that seem fair to you?”

“Do you think, then, affordability for customers of their bills should be one of the measures you are measured against when your pay is being set?”