Recommendations made by Lady Elish Angiolini

Recommendations made by Lady Elish Angiolini

There were 72 non-legislative recommendations made by Lady Elish Angiolini across her two reports. As of May 2023, 58 recommendations have been marked as complete, 12 are in progress and two are being kept under review. In response to the two reports work has been undertaken by the policing bodies to address the non-legislative issues raised about the complaints handling systems. These include a lack of transparency, accountability, clarity, time taken to deal with complaints, impartiality, robustness, confidentiality, and fairness.

Q: What are your views on the implementation of these recommendations?

A: Impact measures have been developed and approved by the SPA Complaints & Conduct Committee in respect of recommendations directed (either singly or jointly) at the Authority, which going forward will be formally reported to the Committee on an annual basis. By way of summary of key developments to date:

• A Framework is in place setting out how the Authority provides oversight of ethical issues within policing in Scotland
• Independent Custody Visitors are trained to consistently check that third parties have been notified of an individual’s detention
• Police Scotland reports to Committee continue to develop in providing understanding of the number and nature of complaints and conduct matters, and the effectiveness with which they are handled
• The Authority annually assesses the suitability of complaint handling arrangement and reports this within its Annual Report & Accounts. Additionally, it publishes an annual Committee report which highlights trends in complaints received, complaint handling performance and provides assurance in respect of Committee scrutiny in this important area
• Public sessions of the Committee are livestreamed and able to be watched in full retrospectively. Items are only taken in private by exception, with equivalent reporting in public where possible, and the Authority publishes a public version of the minutes of discussion of private agenda items
• The Authority actively encourages individuals to safely disclose data to enable the organisation to develop an understanding of the diversity profile of those raising complaints
• Authority Complaint Handling Procedures and Guidance on Senior Officer Conduct Regulations have been reviewed in response to specific recommendations around prioritisation, use of suspension and preliminary assessment of potential conduct matters. This was undertaken in consultation with the PIRC and SCPOSA, as key stakeholders in this regard
• Authority officials have formal qualifications in complaint handling and undertake regular continuous professional development activity to maintain their knowledge and skills. The impact of this can be demonstrated through improvements in terms of the proportion of complaints resolved via Early-stage Resolution; timescales taken to close complaints; and the fact that, in respect of complaints closed from April 2019, PIRC have only undertaken one complaint handling review, with the complaint assessed as having been reasonably handled

In addition to the above, the Committee will, in its oversight capacity, seek assurance as to the development and monitoring of impact measures in respect of non-legislative recommendations directed at Police Scotland.

Q: Are there provisions which are not in the Bill which you think should be?

A: Please see the paper apart [linked in related content below].

Q: Do you have any additional comments on the Bill?

A: Please see the paper apart [linked in related content below].