Whether it plans to encourage the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to increase charges levied for the administration of authorisation…

The Executive requires the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to recover its regulatory costs. Following a recent review of charge levels under the Groundwater Regulations 1998 and public consultation, I approved the charges for 2004-05 and 2005-06 shown in the table. The increases over previous years and equivalent charges in England and Wales for 2004-05 are also shown.
Grazing committees in crofting areas are able to make a single application on behalf of a number of farmers. This allows the annual charges to be divided amongst the members of the committee, thereby significantly reducing the charge payable by individual crofters.

| SEPA’s 2004-05
charges
| Increase Over 2003-04 (cash)
| Increase over 2003-04 (percentage)
| Equivalent charges in England and Wales in 2004-05*
| SEPA’s 2005-06
charges
| Increase Over 2004-05 (cash)
| Increase Over 2004-05 (percentage)

Application fee
| £167
| £3
| RPI (2.9%)
| £106
| £167 plus RPI
| RPI equivalent
| RPI

Annual subsistence charge:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- daily volume disposed: up to & incl 5m3
| £145
| £13
| 10%
| £129
| £160 plus RPI
| £15 plus RPI equivalent

| 10.3% plus RPI
- daily volume disposed: exceeding 5m3 up to & incl 20m3

| £242
| £22
| 10%
| £215
| £267 plus RPI
| £25 plus RPI equivalent
| 10.3% plus RPI
- daily volume disposed: exceeding 20m3
| £483
| £44
| 10%
| £430
| £535 plus RPI
| £52 plus RPI equivalent
| 10.8% plus RPI

Notes:
*Charges in England and Wales for 2005-06 are not available.
All numbers are rounded.