‘Nice work if you can get it’: Scottish water regulator spent public money on gift cards, travel and course in US
A public body that spent more than £77,000 to send a senior executive to take a course at Harvard University in the US has defended the decision, by telling MSPs it invests in its staff to stop them from being “poached”.
The Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) – which regulates Scottish Water – was accused of “poor governance” with public funds in a report by the Auditor General last year, and today faced scrutiny at Holyrood.
Its representatives insisted the culture had changed at the regulator, as they struggled to justify questionable spending highlighted in last year’s audit – including £2,600 to provide every staff member with a £100 gift card for Christmas and £402 on a dinner for two.
The report by the Auditor General found that the “financial management and governance issues found at the commission fall far short of what is expected of a public body”.
After the report, WICS chief executive Alan Sutherland quit with immediate effect in December and was awarded six months’ pay in lieu of his contractual notice period. While an exact figure for this was not provided, in 2021 the commission said the chief executive officer’s annual salary was more than £165,000.
A total of £77,350 was claimed for the Harvard Business School course attended by chief operating officer Michelle Ashford, which included business class flights to Boston.
Approval was only sought afterwards for the expenses, despite Scottish government approval being required in advance for any service above £20,000.
‘We find it difficult to compete with private sector’
Holyrood’s public audit committee criticised the money spent on the Harvard course during its meeting on Thursday.
MSP Jamie Greene questioned whether the organisation had been “running like a private sector business instead of a public sector body”.
Professor Donald MacRae, chair of the board at WICS, said the board should have been asked for approval first and accepted that the value for money for the Harvard course was “not fully demonstrated and the business case was inadequate”.
However, he explained: “WICS is a small public body operating in a very complex and specialised area, and we do find it difficult to compete on salaries with the private sector and actually to retain staff.
“And our staff are frequently subject to approaches to being poached, actually.
“Now, we recognise that our staff are our most important asset, and we take the view that we have to invest in them. And we have to invest in them by offering advanced management training.”
Professor Donald MacRae, chair of the board at WICS. Pic: Scottish Parliament TV
Despite Professor MacRae’s argument about retaining staff, the committee also heard no conditions were put in place ito ensure Ms Ashford stayed with WICS for a certain period of time after attending the course in the US.
Going forward, Professor MacRae said WICS will “still adhere to the policy of investing” in its staff.
But he added the organisation will look for alternative training “within Scotland or the UK at much lower cost” in the future, to deliver “better value for money”.
Richard Leonard MSP, committee convener, accused Jon Rathjen, deputy director for water policy at the Scottish government, of being “complicit” in the failures at WICS, in that he did not challenge the spending on the Harvard course.
Richard Leonard MSP. Pic: Scottish Parliament TV
Mr Rathjen accepted he “made an error of judgement” in relying on an assurance from the WICS chief executive.
He said WICS had approached the Scottish government to approve the spending retrospectively and refusing it would not have achieved anything.
Jon Rathjen, deputy director for water policy at the Scottish government. Pic: Scottish Parliament TV
‘Nice work if you can get it’
With regards to other spending at WICS, MSP Graham Simpson raised a £402.41 meal at the Champany Inn in Linlithgow, West Lothian, where then chief executive Mr Sutherland was dining with an official from the New Zealand government in October 2022.
David Satti, who has recently become the interim accountable officer at WICS, said no itemised receipt had been provided and the expense had been covered on an office credit card, adding: “We have no way of knowing the exact items that were purchased.”
David Satti, interim accountable officer at WICS. Pic: Scottish Parliament TV
Professor MacRae said the meal had been wrongly coded as “subsistence” but nevertheless had been “instrumental” in securing income of £1.2m from New Zealand.
Mr Simpson was also told that WICS workers sent to New Zealand were allowed to book business class as the flight is over six hours.
The MSP sarcastically responded: “Nice work if you can get it.”
Colin Beattie MSP questioned whether it was “unusual” for a public body to give staff members Christmas vouchers.
Colin Beattie MSP. Pic: Scottish Parliament TV
In regards to the £100 gift cards, which exceeded the £75 limit for gifts, Professor MacRae said: “You must remember the situation we were in, a situation where we were all operating remotely and still in the process of recovering from COVID.
“That was the background to the decision.”
It was heard that WICS has no intention to give out gift cards to staff members at Christmas in the future.
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At the start of the meeting, Professor MacRae said there had been a “change of culture and focus on value for money” since the Audit Scotland report.
But MSP Willie Coffey delivered a damning verdict on the spending at WICS, saying: “I’ve been a member of the parliament, in the audit committee on and off for 17 years, and I have to say to you colleagues that this is one of the worst sessions I’ve ever participated in.”
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WICS has a statutory duty to promote the interests of Scottish Water’s customers. It is funded via a levy on Scottish Water.
The organisation has 26 staff and had an income of about £5.3m last year.
Italy’s securities regulator set a firm timetable for applying the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in the country, warning that unlicensed crypto platforms face a deadline to either seek authorization or leave the market.
The move directly affects virtual asset service providers (VASPs) currently operating under Italy’s regime and the retail investors who use them.
In a news release published Thursday, Italy’s Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) reminded the market that Dec. 30 is the last day VASPs registered with the Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM) can operate under the existing national framework.
After that date, only entities authorized as crypto asset service providers (CASPs) under MiCA, including firms passporting into Italy from another EU member state, will be allowed to offer crypto‑asset services in the country.
CONSOB notes that, under Italy’s MiCA‑implementing legislation, VASPs that submit an application to be authorized as CASPs in Italy or another European Union member state by Dec. 30 may continue operating while their applications are assessed, but no later than June 30, 2026.
This transitional operating period is available only to operators who file by the deadline and ends once authorization is granted or refused, or when the June 30, 2026, limit is reached.
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Obligations for firms that do not apply
For VASPs that decide not to seek authorization under MiCA, CONSOB outlined specific obligations. These operators must cease their activities in Italy by Dec. 30, terminate existing contracts, and return clients’ crypto‑assets and funds in accordance with customers’ instructions.
CONSOB also said that VASPs registered in the OAM list must publish adequate information on their websites and inform clients directly about the measures they intend to adopt, either to comply with MiCA or to ensure an orderly closure of existing relationships.
This framework stems from Italy’s legislative decree implementing MiCA, which introduced a transitional regime for existing VASPs and set the conditions under which they can continue operating while moving to the new CASP authorization system. The decree makes use of the flexibility allowed by MiCA’s transitional provisions to set national deadlines, including the June 30, 2026 date referred to in CONSOB’s communication.
Warnings to retail investors
CONSOB’s news release includes a separate section titled “warnings for investors.”
The regulator points out that VASPs currently operating in Italy may no longer be authorized to do so after Dec. 30, and stresses that investors should check whether they have received the necessary information from their provider on its plans to comply with MiCA.
If not, CONSOB advises investors to ask the operator for clarification or request the return of their funds.
EU‑level context under MiCA
CONSOB’s communication sits within the wider EU framework for MiCA’s application and transitional measures. On the same day, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement on the end of MiCA transitional periods, highlighting that member states can provide temporary continuation of existing licenses for existing providers, but these periods are limited and will expire.
Related: EU plan would boost ESMA powers over crypto and capital markets
The ESMA’s statement explains that firms operating under national transitional regimes are not automatically MiCA‑authorized and emphasizes the need for “orderly wind-down plans” where providers do not obtain authorization before transitional periods end.
Italy’s hard stop for applications and continued operation shows how member states are using the discretion MiCA gives them over transitional regimes. The Italian transitional period now has defined end‑points, and continued activity in the market will require MiCA‑compliant authorization.
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A new long-awaited child poverty strategy is promising to lift half a million children out of poverty by the end of this parliament – but critics have branded it unambitious.
The headline announcement in the government’s plan is the pledge to lift the two-child benefit cap, announced in Rachel Reeves’s budget last week.
It also includes:
• Providing upfront childcare support for parents on universal credit returning to work
• An £8m fund to end the placement of families in bed and breakfasts beyond a six-week limit
• Reforms to cut the cost of baby formula
• A new legal duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors, and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation
Many of the measures have previously been announced.
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Two-child cap ‘a real victory for the left’
The government also pointed to its plan in the budget to cut energy bills by £150 a year, and its previously promised £950m boost to a local authority housing fund, which it says will deliver 5,000 high-quality homes for better temporary accommodation.
Downing Street said the strategy would lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030, saying that would be the biggest reduction in a single parliament since records began.
But charities had been hoping for a 10-year strategy and argue the plan lacks ambition.
A record 4.5 million children (about 31%) are living in poverty in the UK – 900,000 more since 2010/11, according to government figures.
Phillip Anderson, the Strategic Director for External Affairs at the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), told Sky News: “Abolishing the two-child limit is a hell of a centre piece, but beyond that it’s mainly a summary of previously announced policies and commitments.
“The really big thing for me is it misses the opportunity to talk about the longer term. It was supposed to be a 10-year strategy, we wanted to see real ambition and ideally legally binding targets for reducing poverty.
“The government itself says there will still be around four million children living in poverty after these measures and the strategy has very little to say to them.”
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‘A budget for benefits street’
‘Budget for benefits street’ row
The biggest measure in the strategy is the plan to lift the two-child benefit cap from April. This is estimated to lift 450,000 children out of poverty by 2030, at a cost of £3bn.
The government has long been under pressure from backbench Labour MPs to scrap the cap, with most experts arguing that it is the quickest, most cost-effective way to drive-down poverty this parliament.
The cap, introduced by Conservative chancellor George Osborne in 2017, means parents can only claim universal credit or tax credits for their first two children. It meant the average affected household losing £4,300 per year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated in 2024.
The government argues that a failure to tackle child poverty holds back the economy, and young people at school, cutting their employment and earning prospects in later life.
However, the Conservatives argue parents on benefits should have to make the same financial choices about children as everyone else.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride said: “Work is the best way out poverty but since this government took office, unemployment has risen every single month and this budget for Benefits Street will only make the situation worse. “
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‘Bring back Sure Start’
Lord Bird, a crossbench peer who founded the Big Issue and grew up in poverty, said while he supported the lifting of the cap there needed to be “more joined up thinking” across government for a longer-term strategy.
He has been pushing for the creation of a government ministry of “poverty prevention and cure”, and for legally binding targets on child poverty.
“You have to be able to measure yourself, you can’t have the government marking its own homework,” he told Sky News.
Lord Bird also said he was a “great believer” in resurrecting Sure Start centres and expanding them beyond early years.
The New Labour programme offered support services for pre-school children and their parents and is widely seen to have improved health and educational outcomes. By its peak in 2009-2010 there were 3,600 centres – the majority of which closed following cuts by the subsequent Conservative government.
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Lord Bird on the ‘great distraction’ from child poverty
PM to meet families
Sir Keir Starmer’s government have since announced 1,000 Best Start Family Hubs – but many Labour MPs feel this announcement went under the radar and ministers missed a trick in not calling them “Sure Starts” as it is a name people are familiar with.
The prime minister is expected to meet families and children in Wales on Friday, alongside the Welsh First Minister, to make the case for his strategy and meet those he hopes will benefit from it.
Several other charities have urged ministers to go further. Both Crisis and Shelter called for the government to unfreeze housing benefit and build more social rent homes, while the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, said that “if we are to end child poverty – not just reduce it” measures like free bus travel for school-age children would be needed.
The strategy comes after the government set up a child poverty taskforce in July 2024, which was initially due to report back in May. The taskforce’s findings have not yet been published – only the government’s response.
Sir Keir said: “Too many children are growing up in poverty, held back from getting on in life, and too many families are struggling without the basics: a secure home, warm meals and the support they need to make ends meet.
“I will not stand by and watch that happen, because the cost of doing nothing is too high for children, for families and for Britain.”
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