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Board meeting - 29 April 2025

The one hundred and ninety-seventh meeting of the Agency Board took place on Tuesday 29 April 2025 at 1.00pm. 

Minutes

Clerk to the Board opening statement

The Clerk to the Board advised that laptops have been issued to all Board members and that in line with advice from the Standards Commission Scotland, the Chat function for Board Meetings hosted on MS Teams will be deactivated. A request was also made to keep background noise to a minimum to ensure remote participants were able to hear speakers clearly. 

1. Chair’s opening remarks

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. No members of the public were in attendance.

2. Apologies for absence

No apologies for absence were received.

3. Order of business

The order of business was as outlined on the agenda. A private item on Regulation, Business & Environment (RBE) portfolio arrangements was added to the agenda as item 19.

4. Declarations of interest

No declarations of interest were made.

5. Decision on taking business in private

The Clerk to the Board informed the Board of the purpose of the items proposed to be taken in private:

• Item 15 - meeting with the Cabinet Secretary.
• Item 16 - New Duties to Monitor and Report Air Quality; as this is subject to further discussions with Scottish Government.
• Item 17 - Proposed Changes to the Environmental Regulations (Scotland) Charging Scheme to Support Implementation of the Sea Lice Regulatory Framework; as this requires Ministerial approval.
• Item 19 - RBE arrangements.

6. Minutes for approval

The minute of the Agency Board meeting of 25 February 2025 was approved as an accurate record.

7. Any other business

The Clerk to the Board proposed a new approach for incorporating meeting feedback from Board members. Feedback received will be anonymised and collated into themes with proposals for how to take them forward. Any new actions will be presented at future Agency Board meetings for agreement to be incorporated into the action note. This will be covered under the Board Work Programme item.

8.

8.1 Chair and Board Report

SEPA 25-26/001

The Chair introduced the report which included Board Member activity since the last Board Meeting on 25 February 2025. The following was highlighted:

• Providing evidence at the Net Zero, Energy and Transport (NZET) Committee in the Scottish Parliament was a great opportunity to showcase areas of SEPA’s work and the session was well received. The Chair commended the work of SEPA colleagues in preparation for the committee.
• The Vision in Business for the Environment of Scotland (VIBES) celebratory event was extremely positive with the Chair facilitating a panel discussion of previous award winners. Focus will now move to a reset for the 2025 VIBES awards.
• Discussion took place with the Chair of Crown Estate Scotland around stakeholder engagement and Public Sector Reform (PSR), with possible opportunities for collaboration.
• The Chair was asked by Scottish Government to lead a cluster of Chairs across the public sector in Scotland on PSR.

Board member Champions provided brief verbal updates on their respective Board Champion group activities.

The Board noted the update. 

8.2 Board Work Programme

Feedback from Board and Committee meetings - the Clerk to the Board proposed two new actions to be added to the action note relating to a review of Board cover paper templates and time split of information being shared and discussion during meetings. 

An explanation was provided as to why pre-voting is not currently being considered. Reference was made to moving Board members from the Diligent Boards system to the SEPA system later in the year. The Chief Officer Finance, Modernisation and Digital (FMD) will confirm whether IS will continue to provide user support for SEPA iPads or laptops only.

Action (837): Chief Officer FMD

A virtual drop-in session led by IS is to be arranged to answer Board member queries on iPads and laptops.

Action (838) Clerk to the Board

Board Champions - a reminder was given by the Clerk to the Board that Board Champion groups are intended to be short life, set up for a particular purpose. A review has been undertaken with the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) of the 13 groups, and the following proposed: 

• close three groups - Risk, Performance, and Transformation;
• merge the Communications & PR and VIBES Awards groups;
• add an additional Board Champion to the Environmental Performance Assessment Scheme (EPAS) group - Board members were asked to note interest with the Clerk to the Board. 

The Board agreed to these proposals and noted that the remaining groups will be kept under review (Health & Safety, Digital, Sustainability & Climate Change, Regulator OBCR Pilot, Water Resilience, Flood Services, and Procurement).

Board Effectiveness - the Clerk informed the Board that the proposed supplier was no longer able to undertake this piece of work, but interim arrangements are in place. A new supplier will start in early June. Further updates will be issued and 1-1s for Board members will be arranged. The outcome of this work will be discussed at the Board Development Day on 28 October 2025.

The Board approved the addition of two new actions to the action note.

The Board approved Board Champion group updates.

9. Chief Executive’s Report

SEPA 25-26/002

The Chief Executive introduced the report drawing attention to the following updates:

• Significant work has been undertaken around supporting and recognising our People with the launch of our Equality Mainstreaming and Outcomes Report 2025 and commitment to training 24 Mental Health First Aiders.
• Investment in senior managers continues with coaching workshops held to develop colleagues and establish a supportive network.
• A new partner has been introduced to enhance SEPA’s cyber security training.
• SEPA’s Chief Officer FMD was awarded Chief Financial Officer of the Year 2024 of a Not-for-Profit organisation at the Scottish Chief Financial Officer Awards.
• SEPA won two awards at the 2025 eCase Freedom of Information (FOI) Awards: joint winner of Practitioner of the Year, Alicia Jones, and a highly commended award in respect of Team of the Year, Access to Information. The Chief Executive extended her congratulations to all winners. 

The Board noted the report.

10. Annual Operating Plan (AOP)/Business Plan 2025-2026

SEPA 25-26/003

The Chief Officer Governance, Performance and Engagement (GPE) introduced the report, noting that Board members have been heavily engaged in the development of the AOP, and a designed version of the document has been shared on Diligent Boards. Those involved in the development of the AOP were thanked for their input. The need to bring the launch date forward for future AOPs and better align budget and planning was noted. 

In response to a query around how the measures within the roadmap relating to compliance with the Biodegradable Municipal Waste Landfill ban were calculated, the Acting Chief Operating Officer RBE agreed to share the supporting data and methodology to show how this is done. 

Action (839): Acting Chief Operating Officer RBE

It was also confirmed by the Chief Officer GPE that the Performance team is looking at more SMART measures, including methodology with ranges, and will provide further narrative around metrics in the performance reports and future iterations of AOPs. 

It was noted that the Fleet Strategy is referenced in the AOP, and this will align with SEPA’s net zero targets. The outline Fleet Strategy was discussed at the April People & Resources Committee (PRC) meeting and a detailed document has been prepared to be shared this week with PRC members for approval. 

Additional comments for future reporting and development of AOPs included ensuring the use of Plain English and that “business as usual” is recognised.

The Board agreed the publication of the AOP on SEPA’s website.

11. SEPA Performance Framework

SEPA 25-26/004

The Chief Officer GPE introduced the report and explained next steps on improving Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and qualitative measures which will be added to the framework over the course of the year. Work will also be done to better link performance, risk and finance. 

The Board Champion for Performance was thanked for their input. Discussion with the full Board will continue as part of scrutiny on performance and keep evolving the framework. A quarterly report will be tabled at Board meetings.

The Board approved the proposed performance measurement framework.

12. Board Committee Reports

12.1 Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee (ARAC) meeting 25 March 2025

The ARAC Chair provided a verbal update referring to the draft minute of the meeting of 25 March 2025. It was noted that progress is being made on Health & Safety reporting, and that the newly appointed Head of Health & Safety will drive further improvements in this area. This will be followed up by ARAC at its next meeting in May. Also at its May workshop, ARAC will consider issues highlighted at the Scottish Parliament’s NZET Committee on 25 February 2025, and lessons learned. 

12.2 People and Resources Committee (PRC) meeting 15 April 2025

The PRC Chair provided a verbal update referring to the draft minute of the meeting of 15 April 2025. It was noted that this was the first meeting under the new Chair and PRC remit, and included a deep dive into the committee’s Terms of Reference (ToR) and alignment with the committee planner. The meeting also focused on four areas of work: workspaces; fleet; transformation; and capital. 

Following a query on whether Board members who are not committee members could attend future deep dives at meetings, it was confirmed by the Clerk to the Board that this was possible and will be reflected in the revised ToR. 

The Board noted the updates from the Committees.

13. Action Note

The Clerk to the Board summarised the open and closed actions. It was noted that two actions remain open (833 and 834) and that they are due at the June Board meeting. All other actions were proposed closed (763, 830, 831, 832, 835, 836) as outlined in the action note.

Further to the Clerk to the Board’s update under item 8.2, two new actions will be added to the action note. 

14. Date of next meeting

The date of the next meeting is 24 June 2025 via MS Teams.

The following items were considered by Board members and Officers in private session.

15. Board discussion with the Cabinet Secretary

The Chair welcomed the Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, Gillian Martin, who was accompanied by Anne Aitken, Deputy Director Environmental Quality & Resilience Division, Jonathan Ferrier, Environment & Forestry Sponsorship Hub Team Leader, and Erin Hall, Deputy Private Secretary to Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy.

The Board noted the discussion.

16. New Duties to Monitor and Report Air Quality

SEPA 25-26/005

The Board approved, in principle, that SEPA is prepared to receive these two packages of work (air quality reporting and monitoring) from the Scottish Government, subject to further discussions and decisions on the details of the processes and funding.

The Board noted SEPA will lead the future development of the monitoring network and reporting on air quality as funding dictates, working in partnership to bring together various monitoring and reporting improvements under a changing air pollution landscape.

17. Proposed Changes to the Environmental Regulations (Scotland) Charging Scheme to Support Implementation of the Sea Lice Regulatory Framework

The Board approved the proposed changes - an average overall increase of 17% in the annual subsistence charges for marine cage fish farm permits – for submission to Scottish Ministers for their approval.

18. Chair’s closing remarks and opportunity for Board members’ feedback

The Chair thanked everyone for their contributions to the discussions and reminded the Board that a feedback form will be issued from the support team.

The Chair noted the value of the session with the Cabinet Secretary and commented that the Board information session that morning was particularly useful in facilitating later discussion at the Board meeting. 

The following item was considered by the Board, Chief Executive, Chief Officers GPE and PWD and the Clerk to the Board only.

19. Regulation, Business and Environment (RBE) arrangements

The Board noted the update.