Public Audit Committee
The 2020/21 audit of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency
Background
On 1 February 2022, the Auditor General for Scotland published the 2020/21 audit of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
The report says:
"SEPA was the victim of a sophisticated ransomware attack on 24 December 2020. This led to SEPA being unable to access a significant amount of its systems and data. SEPA did not pay the ransom. More than twelve months on, it is still reinstating some of its systems. It was able to prioritise and find ways to continue delivering key services such as issuing flood alert and flood warnings within 24 hours of the attack."
Read the report on Audit Scotland's website
Information about the Public Audit Committee's consideration of the report can be found below.
Meetings
10 February 2022
The Committee took evidence from:
Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland; Morag Campsie, Senior Manager, Audit Services, Audit Scotland; and Joanne Brown, Partner, Grant Thornton UK LLP.
Read the agenda and meeting papers, 10 February 2022
Read the Official Report, 10 February 2022
Read the meeting minutes, 10 February 2022
Decision: The Committee agreed to invite the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Scottish Government to give oral evidence at a future meeting.
17 March 2022
The Committee took evidence from:
Jo Green, Acting Chief Executive; Stuart McGregor, Chief Officer Finance; David Pirie, Executive Director, Evidence and Flooding, Scottish Environment Protection Agency; and
Roy Brannen, Interim Director-General Net Zero; Helen Nisbet, Director, Defence, Security and Cyber Resilience; and Kevin Quinlan, Director, Environment and Forestry, Scottish Government.
Followed by:
Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland; Morag Campsie, Senior Manager, Audit Services, Audit Scotland; and Joanne Brown, Partner, Grant Thornton UK LLP.
Read the agenda and meeting papers, 17 March 2022
Read the Official Report, 17 March 2022
Read the meeting minutes, 17 March 2022
Decision: The Committee agreed to consider next steps at a future meeting.
Decision: The Committee agreed at its meeting on 26 May 2022 to close its scrutiny of the report.
Correspondence
Letter to the Convener from Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 21 December 2021