Entrust has published its full corporate plan on its website which
outlines its new service agreement with Customs & Excise. The regulator
is governed by terms of approval which dictate how it operates. Under the
new terms, Entrust has been given a fixed term three year contract which
started on October 5, previously the terms and conditions were open-ended.
But despite the fact that the contract runs until 2004, this does not
guarantee the future of the scheme which has yet to be decided by the
Treasury.
Under the new terms, Entrust will stop its promotional role
although it will continue to provide guidance about the scheme. Promotional
activity will fall to environmental bodies themselves as well as the larger
distributive bodies. The terms are also more prescriptive about what should
be in the regulator's annual report and state that the report should
include a more detailed break down of expenditure.
Entrust will now agree with the Customs' commissioners ways to achieve the
regulatory body's functions and a series of indicators to measure
performance against targets, although the precise details of this have yet
to be decided.
Entrust's previous terms of approval prescribed the sectors board
members should represent. And so although Entrust received criticism not
being open and having too many waste management representatives on the
board, the board structure was prescribed by Customs & Excise. The new
terms lift any restrictions on who must be on the board and mean that
anybody can now apply to be on it. Entrust's adoption of the Nolan
Principles on Standards in Public Life is a response to this criticism and
will help it achieve its aim of becoming a more open regulator. Without the
new terms, Entrust could not have adopted the Nolan principles that also
apply to government organisations and are seen as a benchmark for openness.
Entrust has now made its first appointment using the Nolan
principles and has appointed Jayne Scott as non-executive director. The
appointment followed advertising and interviews with the help of an
independent external assessor suggested by the Public Appointments
Commission. Ms Scott, a chartered accountant, has extensive experience in
both the private and public sectors and is based in Fife.
Lord Cranbrook, chairman of Entrust, said: “I believe our newest
director will quickly prove herself an effective and valuable addition to
the non-executive team, bringing extensive experience in financial
management and corporate governance. Our open procedure revealed that many
high quality candidates were prepared to offer their services to Entrust
and the regulation of the landfill tax credit scheme.”
Ms Scott will continue her work as an independent financial and
management consultant. She was previously director of finance and
performance management for Fife Health Board and was awarded the title of
Scottish director of finance of the year for the public sector in 1998.
The corporate plan can be seen on Entrust's website.
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