Mike Brooker

Welsh Water: Cutbacks, outsourcing, rising bills and big bonuses

Dr Mike Brooker is a member of the Water Industry Commission For Scotland. Initially a scientist, he became Chief Scientist and subsequently Divisional Operations Director of Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) before becoming Managing Director in 1996 and retiring in 2005. As Managing Director at Welsh Water he oversaw a massive outsourcing of work from their organisation to others. After retiring he was embroiled in controversey after being paid a large bonus, alongside two colleagues, whilst bills were rising and 70,000 people were having to boil their water for weeks on end in Wales . The trends displayed by Welsh Water under Mr Brookers stewardship, of Outsourcing, downsizing and big bonuses to management for their overseeing of such change, are currently being repeated in Scotland, advanced by, amongst others, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland.

Dual Regulator

He was appointed as a non-executive director to the board of OFWAT. According to Phillip Fletcher - the then OFWAT Chairman- "The appointments of Mike Brooker and Gill Owen will add to the expertise of the current Ofwat Board in continuing to protect consumers' interests, regulate the water industry in a fair and balanced way, promote competition wherever appropriate and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development." . There are many who consider such aims to be contradictory and that the promotion of 'competition wherever appropriate' is not necessarily conducive to customers interests and sustianable development: of course providing its sustainable ecological development thats being referred to in the first place.

Affiliations

Paid directorships

• Natural Environment Research Council, Swindon
• Water Services Regulation Authority, Birmingham
• Company Secretary (unpaid) of SRB Associates (24/08/07) 'No conflict of interest perceived'.