Report Summary
Issued 5 February 2025, this FOI response advises that legislation which sets out the authority within which the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland operates is publicly available.
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Response
The Scottish Police Authority has considered your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA).
The Authority’s website sets out ‘Who we are’ and ‘What we do’. This points to publicly available legislation which sets out the authority within which the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland operates.
The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 sets out the functions of the Authority in section two. The Chief Constable’s authority for the policing of Scotland is set out in section 17, and Local Policing section 44.
In addition, we can point you to the following legislation:
- The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 s1 and Schedule 1;
- The Scotland Act 1998 s126(1) & (2), and Schedule 1.
The legislative framework set out above shows that Shetland is officially governed as a council area of Scotland. It is one of the 32 council areas established under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and follows Scottish law.
