Scotland’s Environmental and Rural Services

Scotland’s Environment and Rural Services (SEARS) is a partnership between nine public bodies aiming to improve the experience among land managers by working together to provide an efficient and effective service.

Among the key service improvements since SEARS got underway in June 2008 are annual savings of approximately £133,000 to the sheep farming industry in annual groundwater licence charge waivers and around 5,000 less inspections for land managers.

The one door any door principle provides easy access to information and advice from SEARS partners.

We aim to provide a consistent and responsive service, so SEARS partners will operate a common and transparent customer care standard and SEARS staff will have knowledge and experience beyond their normal organisational boundary.

Regular updates on SEARS and the work of the SEARS partner can be found on our News page.

The SEARS partners are:

• 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

This portal aims to provide customers – new and old – with background on the partnership, relevant pieces of information and links to all the bodies involved.

Message from Roseanna Cunningham, Minister for Environment

At the Royal Highland Show in June 2009, I had the pleasure of presenting the first annual review of Scotland’s Environmental and Rural Services to a busy SEARS tent.

That report showed how far the nine partner organisations had come in working closely together to deliver for Scotland’s land managers.

A year later, a richer understanding is emerging of the benefits brought about by the SEARS changes.

Further reductions have been made on inspections, resulting in more time saved for customers, continuing fee waivers and modest, though encouraging CO₂ savings.

Good progress continues on biosecurity, co-locations, and reducing bureaucracy. Preparatory work also began late on in 2009 to develop a pilot of the ‘rural hubs’ concept, to further improve access to services.

The doors opened by the SEARS partnership have made measurable improvements to how we operate in rural Scotland and I expect this work to progress well over the coming year.

Any questions?

If you can’t find what you’re looking for on our FAQs page, the SEARS customer service number is 08452 30 20 50 and you can also contact us via email on info@sears.scotland.gov.uk.