HC Deb 27 April 1983 vol 41 cc859-60
15. Mr. Ford

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the salaries and conditions of water authority chairmen in England.

Mr. Giles Shaw

Regional water authority chairmen's current salaries range from £13,679 to £24,980. With permission, I shall circulate the details in the Official Report.

The conditions of appointment, which are uniform for all water authority chairmen, were given in a written reply to the hon. Gentleman on 15 April.

Mr. Ford

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that answer. Does he recall that in his reply of 15 April he stated that the notional full-time pay of the chairman of the Yorkshire water authority was more than £29,000 pensionable income, plus perks? Is he aware that that is comparable with the salary offered to the new chief constable of west Yorkshire, whose duties are far more onerous? How does he justify that figure?

Mr. Shaw

The notional annual salary is a full-time figure. The actual appointment for Yorkshire is for three days per week, so the pay taken is substantially less than the figure to which the hon. Gentleman referred. As for comparibility with other public service posts, such as that of chief constable, that is hardly a matter for me. I should point out, however, that the Yorkshire water authority provides a vital service to a region far larger than that presided over by the chief constable of west Yorkshire.

Mr. Arthur Lewis

I thank the Minister for his original reply. If he can give that information, why can he not give the salaries of the chief executives? Information is available on the salaries of all the lower-paid workers in water authorities, so why should not Members of Parliament know the salaries of the chief executives? Will the Minister find out and tell the House or write to me?

Mr. Shaw

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the terms and conditions of appointment of chief executives are a matter for the authorities and not for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. He will also be aware that the information is given in the annual report of every water authority, which is laid before the House.

Following are the details:

Regional water authority and Chairmen Salaries and basis of appointment
North-West: Mr. George Mann part-time; four days a week, salary £24,980 (notional full-time rate £31,225).
Severn-Trent: Sir William Dugdale Bt
Thames: Mr. Geoffrey Edwards
Anglian: Mr. Bernard Henderson part-time; three and a half days a week, salary £20,504 (notional full-time rate £29,291).
Southern: Sir Arthur Godfrey Taylor J
Yorkshire: Mr. Peter Coverdale part-time; three days a week, salary £17,575 (notional full-time rate £29,291).
South-West: Mr. Len Hill part-time; three and a half days a week, salary £19,150 (notional full-time rate £27,358).
Northumbrian: Mr. Michael Straker part-time; two and a half days a week, salary £13,679 (notional full-time rate £27,358).
Wessex: Mr. Malcolm Anson