Water Industry Commission for Scotland - independent review: governance arrangements

2. Scope

To provide DG Net Zero as Portfolio Accountable Officer, and the Permanent Secretary as Principal Accountable Officer (PAO) with the findings from an independent review of the governance arrangements of WICS across six key scope areas, covering:

• Remit Area One: The role of WICS Board Chair and Members, the skills development of the Board, the values they espouse and the leadership role modelling they do to foster a culture of openness, transparency and ensuring Best Value.
• Remit Area Two: How the Board and senior leadership communicate, operate and their effectiveness as a public body responsible for complying with the requirements of the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM), including providing best value when operating as a public body in a private sector domain generating revenue to recognise the fundamental difference between both.
• Remit Area Three: Review of WICS leadership (Non-Executive and Executive level) with regard to integrity, decision making, transparency, risk and control.
• Remit Area Four: Review of key finance, training, HR and other standard operating procedures, the policies and processes the organisation and its Board has in place, and their effectiveness to discharge their statutory function.
• Remit Area Five: Assess the culture and ethos at WICS.
• Remit Area Six: Review of organisation structure at operational and governance levels.