GREENS CONDEMN PLANS FOR £350M WATER CONTRACT
Alison Johnstone, Scottish Green MSP for Lothian, has lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament expressing deep concerns at reports that the Scottish Government is preparing to award a £350million contract to a private water company for supply of services to the public sector.
At the moment the billing and servicing of water for council buildings, hospitals, universities, prisons and the Scottish Parliament is carried out by Edinburgh-based Business Stream, which is 100 per cent owned by publicly-owned Scottish Water.
Alison Johnstone said:
“It is deeply concerning that the Scottish Government appears to be about to award this massive contract, worth £350million over 3 years, to Anglian Water, so any profits will flow out of Scottish economy. At the moment the billing and servicing of water for council buildings, hospitals, universities, prisons and the Scottish Parliament is carried out by Business Stream, so any profits come back to publicly-owned Scottish Water.
“Anglian are owned by a consortium called Osprey, made up of asset and pension managers in Canada and Australia. Scotland’s water is a great asset, as are the skills of the industry, and we should be harnessing these for the public good, not lining shareholders' pockets.”
The text of the motion submitted by Alison reads:
That the Parliament is appalled by reports that Scottish Ministers’ promises to keep Scottish Water in public hands and a “public sector success story” may be undermined by the award of a major £350 million public sector contract to private sector company Anglian Water; notes that the current contract to supply mains water and waste water services to more than 100 public sector organisations is delivered by Business Stream, a company 100% owned by Scottish Water and which ploughs profits back into the public sector; further notes that calculations by Corporate Watch show that Anglian paid £151 million to its private owners but just £1 million in tax in 2012 after an operating profit of £363 million, and is accused of avoiding millions in tax by routing profits through tax havens by way of taking on high-interest loans from their owners through the Channel Islands stock exchange; believes that water services should be in public hands and that public contracts should benefit the common good not corporate profit.
SNP dilemma as English firm set to win water deal (Sunday Times)