The membership of the Regional Proposal Assessment Committees (RPACs) is restricted to officials frompublic bodies, primarily Scottish Government’s Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate(SGRPID), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Forestry Commission (FCS), the ScottishEnvironmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and an enterprise representative from thelocal enterprise companies (LEC) or a relevant local authority.The decision to restrictthe membership to public officials was taken in response to a strong view expressedby a number of different stakeholders during the consultation on the Strategy Planin summer 2006, that applicants would be very uncomfortable with confidential businessand financial information being open to scrutiny by private sector bodies or individuals.However, the RPACshave involved a range of private and third sector stakeholders and representativebodies, including those representing farmers and crofters, in the process of settingthe regional priorities against which all funding...