Committee questions water regulator over amount spent on training

A Holyrood committee has asked for further information from Scotland’s water industry regulator over spending on staff training.

The Water Industry Commission for Scotland (Wics) was criticised for lavish spending last year, which included a near-£80,000 bill for a course at Harvard Business School for a senior manager.

Data released under freedom of information (FOI) legislation earlier this month showed staff training costs between 2016-17 and this year stood at nearly £500,000.

The training included covering executive coaching for multiple members of staff over a number of years, costing a total of £87,769, as well as two MBAs, costing a total of £84,620 and £72,795, on top of the costs for the Harvard leadership course.

In a letter sent last week to the Wics interim chief executive David Satti – who took over following his predecessor Alan Sutherland’s resignation – Public Audit Committee convener Richard Leonard asked if proper procurement processes had been followed in relation to the courses.

“The committee asks what assessment Wics has made to determine if the courses referred to in the response to the FOI request, which cost between £20,000 and £88,000, followed the appropriate procurement and approvals processes,” the letter said.

In a letter earlier this month, Mr Satti told the committee the firm has trouble retaining staff, who depart for higher-paid jobs, and has a “longstanding policy of funding MBA programmes” for those who show “consistent high performance”.

However, the Scottish Government claimed in its own correspondence to the committee that there was “no approval sought for these courses”.

The committee also asked for a copy of an internal report from Wics into internal spending, which included a £400 high-end restaurant dinner and £100 gift cards for staff as Christmas presents.