Who We Are

The Scottish Police Authority is independent of both the Scottish Government and policing. It is the primary governance body for policing in Scotland, and was established as a public body on 1 April 2013 by the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. It was set up to hold the Chief Constable to account; promote, support and oversee improvement in policing. It is also responsible for the management and delivery of Forensic Services in Scotland and Independent Custody Visiting Scotland.

In this section, find out more about the Authority’s priorities, the Board and the Leadership team.

Who We Are

What We Do

The Scottish Police Authority is responsible for maintaining policing. It has four specific areas of responsibility:

promoting the policing principles

supporting continuous improvement

keeping policing under review

holding the Chief Constable to account.

This section tells you in outline what the Authority does.

What We Do

Complaints

Are you dissatisfied with the service you have received from policing in Scotland?

The Scottish Police Authority, Police Scotland and the Police Investigations and Reviews Commissioner (PIRC) all have a role to play in considering complaints about policing in Scotland.

In this section, find out who to direct your complaint to. We also welcome written communication in Gaelic (see our Gaelic Language Plan).

Complaints

Published: 06 January 2023

FOI 2022-086 - Spend on external legal advice 2020-2022

Category: FOI

Topic: Budget

Commitee: Legal Committee

LET 202212221 FOI Response 2022 086 For Web (pdf, .56MB )

Report Summary

This FOI response provides spend on external legal services from 2020/21 to November 2022 which includes, but is not restricted to, legal advice and explains why some of the information is exempt from disclosure.

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FOI 2022-086 - Spend on external legal advice 2020-2022

Report Summary

Related Publications

Parliamentary Correspondence - 2025/26 Budget Submission

Q2 Financial Monitoring Report - 19 November

Financial Performance Quarterly Report - 22 February 2024

Members Expenses - Q1 2024-25