Water watchdog boss put £170 wallet on expenses

Alan Sutherland quit as chief executive of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland last year

The former boss of Scotland's water industry regulator submitted expense claims for a £170 Mulberry wallet and £290 glasses which "had no clear business purpose".

Alan Sutherland also approved business class flights to New Zealand for a director and her partner which cost more than £18,000.

Details of the former chief executive's expense claims were revealed in a Scottish government commissioned review of spending at the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (Wics).

Mr Sutherland stood down from his role at the watchdog last year within hours of a separate Audit Scotland report which detailed lavish spending at the public body.

A report last year revealed that a senior manager at Wics was sent on an £80,000 course at Harvard Business School.

The earlier Audit Scotland report had revealed how a senior manager at Wics had an £80,000 Harvard Business School course paid for her, while others completed MBA courses costing £70,000.

That prompted the Scottish government to commission another review of spending and governance at Wics, which included consultants Ernst & Young going through the expense claims line-by-line.

They found that between October 2018 and June 2023, Mr Sutherland submitted 28 "bulk uploads" of expenses which ranged between £190 and more than £21,329.

He also signed off a business class flight from New Zealand - worth more than £18,159 - for the director of corporate and international affairs and her spouse.

The report noted: "While we understand from interviews that both were living in New Zealand at the time, it is not usual practice to expense business class travel for spouses and we cannot see evidence that appropriateness and value for money were considered before this was incurred."

A number of items were found to have "no clear business purpose", including the £170 wallet and £290 glasses.

The review concluded payment of the expenses showed there was a "poor control and governance environment".

It also noted there were wide-ranging values for how much could be claimed on working from home expenses, which allowed for desks worth between £100 and £600.

Another review found the structure of Wics was "top heavy" and many staff felt they were not being listened to.

Aside from Mr Sutherland's resignation, it noted that much of the senior team from his tenure is still in place.

The organisation has 26 staff and had an income of about £5.3m last year.

Wics officials have previously told MSPs Wics is unusual in that around 20% of its income is from international consulting.

Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin said: "These thorough reports illustrate the depth of the challenge in addressing the culture and ethos at Wics that had developed over a number of years.

"We place the utmost importance on the proper spending of public money and have made it very clear that the approach to expenditure highlighted here and in previous disclosures was simply unacceptable."

She said an interim chairperson had been appointed. "We will continue to monitor progress on the action plan closely," she added.

Conservative net zero spokesman Douglas Lumsden said: "This review must spell the end once and for all for the culture of eye-watering spending at this organisation.

"Some of its findings will appall hard-pressed taxpayers who will wonder why this was not curtailed far sooner."