Chamber and committees

The Executive is committed to ensuring that each public body is subject to a regular policy and financial management review. A review of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) will start in June 2002. The terms of reference for the review will be: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, andidentify 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.As an essential part of the review process, officials will be consulting widely with interested parties. It is intended to hold a stakeholder event early in the review to help define the detailed scope and identify the key questions to be answered in the review, within the broad terms of reference.