SEPA sets out its priorities for the coming year
EXT01 – A11
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has published
its corporate priorities for the coming year.
The Agency's Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for the 2010-2011
financial year sets out its environmental and business priorities
and how the organisation is changing so it can deliver them. The
Plan outlines SEPA's high level outcomes and targets that have been
agreed with Scottish Government and also provides the foundation
for all of SEPA's business planning and reporting and for setting
managers' and staff annual objectives and targets.
SEPA's main role is to protect and improve Scotland's
environment. However, the environment is changing, and so is the
public sector, and so the Agency must adapt to changing demands and
financial pressures, and to today's environmental challenges. The
AOP will help the organisation to become better at delivering for
Scotland's environment, economy, its customers, stakeholders and
partners.
The Plan is organised around four outcomes that are focused on
delivering a sustainable Scotland which enjoys the benefits of a
protected and improving environment, and on enabling SEPA to be an
influential environmental authority with a high performance
corporate culture. The four outcomes are:
- Scotland's environment is protected and improving;
- Scotland's environment is understood and SEPA is an influential
and respected authority;
- Scotland is preparing for a sustainable future and is taking
steps to limit climate change;
- SEPA is a high performance organisation.
SEPA's Chief Executive, Dr Campbell Gemmell, said: "As
Scotland's environment watchdog, SEPA has a key role to play in
securing a sustainable future for Scotland. Many of the mainstays
of economic recovery in Scotland depend on the environment.
Established industries like tourism, agriculture and the food and
drink trade depend on our high quality air, land and water, and
there are huge new economic opportunities in the renewable energy
and clean technology sectors.
"The environmental risks and issues that need to be tackled in
2010 are more complex now, expectations of the public sector are
higher and the economy has changed radically over the last two
years. There have also been major scientific and technological
advances that offer new opportunities for protecting human health
and the environment.
"SEPA aims to be smaller, more flexible, more responsive and
more innovative, doing a better job at lower cost to taxpayers and
charge payers. We will be an effective adviser, delivering
excellent environmental information and advice to citizens,
businesses and communities, and also promoting good environmental
practice. As a regulator we will be firm but fair – encouraging and
enabling compliance with environmental laws, simplifying where we
can and seeking to penalise offenders robustly.
"Our priorities for achieving this ambitious agenda are set out
in this year's AOP and our success can be judged against the
targets we have set for ourselves and on which we will report
regularly. We firmly believe that the priorities we have set
out here will make a big difference to Scotland, not only
environmentally, but also socially and economically."
Ends
Notes to editor
· SEPA's Annual
Operating Plan 2010 – 2011 can be found at www.sepa.org.uk/aop
· The AOP
replaces the last year of SEPA's Corporate Plan 2008-2011.