Scotland’s Environmental and Rural Services
What is SEARS?
Sears is a partnership of nine public bodies aiming to provide
you, Scotland’s rural land managers, with an efficient and effective
service by:
- co-ordinating when they need to contact and visit you;
- providing you with easy access to information and advice;
- providing a consistent and responsive service; and
- delivering a service which focuses on your needs.
A streamlined service for rural land managers
means a co-ordinated approach to contacting and visiting land
managers:
- more co-ordinated visits and inspections; and
- fewer requests for information.
More coordinated visits and inspections means
that SEARS partners will talk to each other before visiting
or inspecting your business to avoid duplicated effort and,
if appropriate, arrange joint visits.
Fewer requests for information means that SEARS
partners will share information you provide so that you don’t
have to provide the same information twice.
One door any door means that you will have
easy access to information and advice from SEARS partners by:
- phoning the SEARS customer service number; or
- visiting the SEARS web site; or
- contacting any of the partners’ offices.
Provided the topic is covered by one of the SEARS partner organisations,
you can speak to someone in any of the organisations and you
will:
- receive a reply; or
- be put in touch with the appropriate person working for one
of the SEARS partners; or
- be contacted by the appropriate person within 2 days.
A consistent and responsive service means that:
- SEARS partners will operate a common and transparent customer
care standard; and
- SEARS staff will have knowledge and experience beyond their
normal organisational boundary.
SEARS will deliver a service focused on your needs
by:
- bringing together public bodies to work more closely; and
- integrating more closely the services delivered by the partners.
What are the changes?
Some inspections carried out previously by one of the SEARS
partners may now be done by a different partner. The staff of
these partner bodies have been trained and are authorised to
carry out these inspections. Examples are:
- If SGRPID officers need to visit your business, they may also
carry out Groundwater Directive inspections and SSAFO inspections
for SEPA at the same time.
- RPID, SNH or FCS officers may carry out Diffuse Pollution inspections
for SEPA.
When will this happen?
- Some of it has already started. For example, you may have been
visited already by a SGRPID officer carrying out inspection
work for SEPA.
- SEARS partners will introduce more improvements in the coming
months and further innovations are already being looked at.
Where can I find out more?
- By phoning the SEARS customer service number on 08452 30 20 50;
or
- By contacting any of the SEARS organisations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have you carried out research with rural land owners?
Yes, we have conducted extensive research. The findings indicate
broad support for the SEARS initiative from customers. These
findings have been published.
What will SEARS save in terms of burden on land managers?
The new co-ordinated service mean around 2300 fewer visits a
year as one organisation carries out inspections on behalf of
another. A further 200 inspections a year will be carried out
by two organisations simultaneously.
Who is in this new partnership?
There are nine public bodies involved:
- Animal Health
- Cairngorms National Park Authority
- Crofters Commission
- Deer Commission for Scotland
- Forestry Commission Scotland
- Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority
- Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
- Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate
- Scottish Natural Heritage
When did all this start?
SEARS was launched on 20 June at the Royal Highland Show. Its
implementation is very much a phased approach. Some work has
already started, for example RPID staff have been trained by
SEPA to carry out Groundwater Directive inspections, Silage,
Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil (SSAFO) inspections, and Diffuse
Pollution inspections on their behalf. These inspections will
now be carried out as RPID staff undertake their own routine
inspections.
How are you letting customers know about the new service?
We are providing public information on this web site. We have
prepared a small information leaflet which will be enclosed
with regular mailings from partner organisations. The 1700 customers
affected by changes to groundwater inspections were informed
directly in early June.
Is SEARS a precursor to any of the partner organisations merging?
The Scottish Government has made clear its intention to streamline
processes and avoid confusion in the public sector. SEARS is
not about merger but about reducing the burden on customers.
Why is this being done?
As public bodies, it is our intention to provide services to
rural land managers which are streamlined, responsive and customer-focused.
What will these changes mean for rural land managers?
The one-door-any-door approach means that rural land managers
can now use any of the partner organisations as route to any
of the partners. Individuals can now make changes to basic information
held about them online through the web portal, and notify any
of the partner organisations with whom they deal. If customers
would prefer to continue to deal with their usual local office
and officer, they are welcome to do so.
Another benefit is greater co-ordination of visits and inspections.
This means that SEARS partners will talk to each other before
visiting or inspecting businesses to avoid duplicated effort
and, if appropriate, arrange joint visits.
What guarantee is there that agencies will be able to carry
out inspections to as high a standard as the traditional inspectors?
All staff who are carrying out inspections on behalf of other
agencies have been trained and authorised to carry out the work.
What happens if an inspection carried out on behalf of another
body identifies a problem?
The matter will be referred to the organisation responsible,
for them to take follow-up action.
Why is this new service only available to rural land managers?
Rural land managers include crofters, foresters and not-for-profit
estates. Along with farmers and other landowners, those groups
represent the greatest area of common focus for the SEARS partners.
Future phases of SEARS may consider if there are any other customer
groups which might benefit from a similar approach.
Do data protection rules allow you to share data?
Yes, all SEARS data sharing is in accordance with the terms
of the Data Protection Act.
