Public appointment: Non-Executive Members appointed to the Board of Scottish Water

The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, Gillian Martin MSP, today announced the appointment of Allan Clow and Belinda Howell as Non-Executive Members of the Board of Scottish Water.

Non-Executive Members

Allan Clow is an experienced non-executive director and former main board Managing and Finance Director. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Wheatly Homes Glasgow, Wheatley Developments Scotland, the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), Turning Point Scotland and Glencraft Mattresses.  Allan is a Chartered Management Accountant and is Audit Chair at UHI and a Member of the Audit and Risk Committees of HIE, the Wheatley Group and Turning Point Scotland. Allan was previously Chief Financial Officer of Superglass plc, Chap Holdings Limited and Bancon Development Holdings and Managing Director of Bancon Homes Limited and Bancon Construction Limited.

Belinda Howell is an Executive and Non-Executive Director with extensive board experience in sustainability strategy and digital transformation across public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Belinda was the first CEO of a supply chain information technology provider, Director of Sustainable Solutions and Global Mining for URS Corporation (now AECOM) and founded Decarbonize, a consultancy. She is a Non-Executive Director on the board of Digital Catapult, London Pensions Fund Authority and the Marine Management Organisation and is also a member of the Defence Safety and Environment Committee and Export Guarantees Advisory Council. Previous board and advisory committee experience includes the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, National Biodiversity Network Trust, Scottish Power, Tarmac and representing international retailers on the Roundtables for Sustainable Palm Oil and Responsible Soy Associations.

Appointments

The appointments are for four years. Allan Clow was appointed from 1 February 2025 until 31 January 2029 with Belinda Howell appointed from 1 September 2025 until 31 August 2029.

The appointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Remuneration and time commitment

The appointments attract remuneration of £466.00 per day at 2024/25 rates, for an initial time commitment of four days per month.

Other Ministerial appointments

Allan Clow is a Member of the Board of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and receives £12,570 per annum for a time commitment of 2.5 days per month.

Belinda Howell does not hold any other public appointments made by Scottish Ministers.

Political activity

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.  However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.

Allan Clow and Belinda Howell have had no political activity within the last five years.

Background

Scottish Water is a public corporation established by the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002.  It is accountable to the Scottish Government for the provision of all public water and sewerage services to more than 2.62 million households and around 153,000 businesses in Scotland.  It is the fourth largest provider of water and sewerage services in the UK, with an annual revenue of roughly £1.94 billion.  Its retail subsidiary Business Stream operates in the competitive retail market for non-household customers in Scotland and England.