This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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SEPA's performance under review
28/05/2002
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is to
undergo a
comprehensive review of its performance, it was
announced today.
Announcing that the review would commence in June 2002,
the Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development
Allan Wilson went on to say that:
"The Executive made a clear commitment in the Public
Bodies Review in Summer
2001 that all public bodies would be reviewed on a
regular basis. This will
be the first such review of SEPA, and it will give us
the opportunity to
ensure it is equipped for its future role, is
responsive to Executive
priorities and is providing an efficient and
effective service.
"The review is underpinned by the Executive's commitment
to environmental
justice and on this basis SEPA's role in representing
the interests of
local communities affected by polluting activities
will also be examined."
The arrangements for the review were announced in
response to a
parliamentary question earlier today. The Executive
made clear its
commitment to engaging a wide range of interested
parties in the review
from the outset, by setting up an early opportunity
to meet with
stakeholders to help define the detailed questions to
be considered in the
review.
The Scottish Executive is also writing to the Chief
Executive of SEPA asking
that staff and Trades Unions are closely involved in
the review process.
SEPA is the public body responsible for regulating
emissions to water,
land and air from a variety of industrial and other
processes in Scotland.
It was established by the Environment Act 1995 and
became operational on 1
April 1996.
The terms of reference for the review, as announced in
an answer to a
Scottish Parliament Question earlier today, are as
follows.
To examine the role and functions of the Scottish
Environment Protection
Agency and the effectiveness and efficiency with
which these functions are
carried out. The review will:
* Consider how effectively SEPA has performed since it
was established and
seek the views of a range of stakeholders on its
performance
* Consider how well SEPA responds to the policies and
priorities of the
Scottish Ministers and if the level of delegation to
SEPA from the Scottish
Executive is sufficient and appropriate
* Examine the role of SEPA in relation to other bodies
with responsibilities
for environmental protection and regulation
* Identify ways of improving the service that SEPA
provides to local
communities and regulated organisations
* Examine the policies and practices of SEPA in relation
to the charges it
levies for its regulatory service
* Look at ways of improving the system of environmental
permits and
emissions monitoring
* Identify the key issues that need to be addressed to
allow SEPA to meet
the challenges posed by the shifting focus of
environmental legislation
The Review will be expected to make recommendations to
the Scottish
Ministers in all of the key areas outlined above.
The Review will be informed by other relevant reviews,
in particular the
recent quinquennial review of the Environment Agency
in England and Wales
and the December 2000 Audit Scotland report "A
Measure of Protection".
These Terms of Reference take account of the outcome of
the 2001 Public
Bodies Review, which concluded that there was no
fundamental change needed
to the functions and structure of SEPA. The Public
Bodies Review made
cross-cutting recommendations relevant to all public
bodies; the
implementation of these recommendations in relation
to SEPA will be
considered as part of the Review.