Report detail

Memorandum of Understanding

Members will recall that the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2021. The MOU seeks to provide a guide to early and effective identification, and appropriate engagement, between the Authority and Police Scotland. This applies when the service is considering a new or significantly revised and emerging strategy, policy, or practice to improve the safety and wellbeing of persons, localities, and communities in Scotland, and which are likely to be of significant public interest.

Three years on from agreeing the MOU. Chief Constable Jo Farrell and I have now reviewed, refreshed and agreed the MOU to make it clearer. The updated MOU is attached to my report at Appendix A.

Board Objectives 2024-25

The Board’s objectives for 2024-25 have been reviewed, refreshed and published on the Authority’s website following agreement with members.

The Board’s objectives explain what the Board, as a collective group of non-executive members, will do to contribute to the direction and priorities for policing which are set out and approved by the Board in the following three documents:

• The joint Strategy for Policing 2023-2026
• The Forensic Services Strategy 2021-2026
• The Authority’s Corporate Strategy 2023-2026

The two key priorities for the Board during 2024-2025 will remain:

• To maintain a balanced budget position within policing
• To support the development of sustainable policing and forensic services.

To meet both objectives, the Board will focus its support and scrutiny of policing in three specific areas:

• Culture
• Capacity
• Capability

Board Members Recruitment

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice has now approved the appointment of four new Board members. I expect the Public Appointments Team to announce the names of the successful individuals shortly.

The new Members are expected to take up their posts in June and the Chief Executive has a comprehensive induction programme in place to support them to join the Board.

I will consider and recommend the appointment of new Members to committees to the Authority meeting in June, once I have had the opportunity to discuss this with each of them and Committee Chairs.

Assistant Chief Constables

As reported to the Board in March, the Authority launched a recruitment process seeking three Assistant Chief Constables for Police Scotland. The process launched on 22 March 2024 and the selection process is now underway.

I will Chair the Selection Panel which also includes the Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable Jane Connors, Authority Member Tom Halpin, and Sally Loudon as the Independent Member. The Selection Panel will recommend appointments to the Authority by the end of May and an announcement confirming successful candidates will follow shortly thereafter.

Vice Chair role description

At the February Authority meeting, Members approved the appointment of Fiona McQueen as Vice Chair of the Scottish Police Authority, effective from 1 April 2024.

Fiona and I have reviewed and updated the Vice Chair’s role description, and this is attached to my report at Appendix B for wider awareness and transparency.

Minutes of meetings with Cabinet Secretary for Justice

Members are aware that I meet regularly with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and separately with the Cabinet Secretary and Chief Constable.

For transparency, a minute of all meetings held with the Cabinet Secretary and Chief Constable; the Cabinet Secretary and the Authority, or joint meetings involving all three are now being routinely published on the Scottish Government’s website. Notes of meetings from January 2024 can be found on the Scottish Government’s website at the following link: Minutes of regular meetings with Cabinet Secretary, Chair and Chief Constable.

Statutory Staff Association, Trade Union and Diversity Association engagement

Since the last Board meeting there have been a series of meetings with our staff associations and trade unions who provide valuable input to our support and scrutiny of policing.

The Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS) took time to meet members and discuss a range of issues including the efforts to develop and improve the culture within policing. I have agreed to attend ASPS’ Centenary Conference being held at Peebles Hydro on 21 May 2024.

Fiona McQueen and I have met with Unison where we discussed the Revised Model of Policing and the impact of new Hate Crime legislation on C3 staff amongst other things.

Fiona and I also met with the Disability and Carers Association earlier this month where we spoke predominantly about the promotion processes for both officers and staff on modified duties.

I am grateful to Fiona who also led our recent engagement with the Christian Police Association. It was a valuable and productive meeting were we discussed the voice of the diversity staff associations as well as matters of equality, diversity and inclusion and staff welfare, including chaplaincy.

COSLA Leaders Forum

On Friday 26 April the Chief Constable and I were invited to speak at the COSLA Leaders Forum. Council leaders from every local authority in Scotland attend this forum and I reiterated my view that local government is a key strategic partner to the Authority and highlighted areas where I think we can enhance our collaborative working such as digitisation, estate rationalisation, influencing the wider justice system and innovation in service delivery. These opportunities to engage directly across local government are something I value greatly, and I appreciate the discussion and questions from Leaders.

Local Authority Scrutiny

Members will recall that a tripartite review of local policing was conducted between the Authority, Police Scotland and COSLA in 2021. As a continuation of this collaborative approach and our ongoing commitment to supporting local scrutiny of policing, the Authority hosted a webinar for scrutiny leaders across local government at the end of March. This webinar focused on local engagement and ownership of Local Police Plans, ensuring robust reporting and getting the best from alignment of plans to local priorities. To support this work, a further webinar took place with the council officers who support scrutiny committees and forums. Local scrutiny offers the Authority additional and valuable assurance. These webinars, and our continued joint focus on the improvement of scrutiny, are a critical element of our partnership delivery plan with COSLA and Police Scotland.

Community Confidence Action Research

The Authority and Police Scotland have now concluded the operational phase of our community confidence project. The project aims to develop our understanding of what drives confidence and trust in policing at a local community level. The work has been carried out in Fullarton, Irvine, Letham, Levenmouth and Wick over the last two years. The evaluation phase is now underway and will deliver findings and a toolkit for further roll out of this approach across further local policing areas.