Water regulator criticised for ‘unacceptable’ spending of public money
It included £77,350 on a training course at Harvard for the Water Industry Commission for Scotland’s chief operating officer.
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Your support makes all the difference.The body tasked with regulating Scottish Water has been criticised for lavish spending, including a £77,000 Harvard course for a senior manager and meals worth more than £200 per head.
The Water Industry Commission for Scotland (Wics) has borne the brunt of a report from Audit Scotland on Wednesday, with the watchdog finding the body failed to seek Government approval for two purchases over 2022-23.
One of these was the provision of £100 gift vouchers for staff members as a Christmas present, which exceeded the £75 limit for gifts.
The other was the funding of a training course at the Harvard Business School at the famed university in Boston to the tune of £77,350, including flights, for its chief operating officer Michelle Ashford.
Ms Ashford advertises the advanced management programme from Harvard on her LinkedIn profile, and says it was undertaken between January and May of this year.
It was only when Audit Scotland reported the issues that approval was sought, and received, by the Scottish Government.
In its report, Audit Scotland said: “I am concerned that this amount of public money was spent without due process being followed or a clear assessment being undertaken to demonstrate that this expenditure represented value for money.
“All expenditure should be incurred in accordance with the requirements of the commission’s finance policies and guidelines, and the rules and guidance set out in the Scottish public finance manual. If there is any dubiety as to whether planned expenditure is permissible, approval should be sought from the sponsor division prior to the expenditure being incurred.”
Elsewhere, Auditor General Stephen Boyle criticised the body’s expenses process, which showed “widespread issues”, including “claims not supported by itemised receipts, exceeding the approved subsistence rates, and, on occasion, the reimbursement of the purchase of alcohol”.
The sense of entitlement demonstrated by these lavish dinners, gift cards and trips to Harvard is an insult to taxpayers who are being clobbered ever harder by the SNP Government
On one occasion, a meal amounted to as much as £200 per head, including the purchase of alcohol.
In a statement, Mr Boyle said: “Value for money should always be central to public bodies’ spending decisions.
“But these findings highlight unacceptable behaviour by senior commission officials in the use of public funds.
“I expect appropriate action to be taken to address the issues reported by the auditor.”
At the beginning of this year, Wics chief executive Alan Sutherland caused controversy when the body’s accounts showed he had been repaid more than £14,000 for leave he did not take in 2021-22, despite being among one of the highest paid public sector workers on a salary of £183,240.
Wics and the Scottish Government have been contacted for comment.
It beggars belief that this body has been frittering away public money with abandon as it hits Scots with one recommended water rate hike after another
Scottish Tory net zero spokesman Douglas Lumsden said the actions in the report were “indefensible”, adding: “The sense of entitlement demonstrated by these lavish dinners, gift cards and trips to Harvard is an insult to taxpayers who are being clobbered ever harder by the SNP Government.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton described the spending as “jaw-dropping”, adding that it “stinks to high heaven”.
While Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said the “astounding” report “lays bare a shocking culture of financial mismanagement and waste in the Water Industry Commission for Scotland”.
She added: “It beggars belief that this body has been frittering away public money with abandon as it hits Scots with one recommended water rate hike after another.”