Further detail

FURTHER DETAIL ON REPORT TOPIC

Forensic Services have a well-established People Board, which aims to provide oversight and governance of all people-related matters, ensuring that we have the right number of people, who have the right skills, training and experience to deliver forensic science services.

In the past 12 months the People Board has had a greater visibility of recruitment decisions, in light of financial pressures and the ongoing organisational change activity across Forensic Services. We have been provided with significant support from SPA Finance, Risk and Assurance and Police Scotland People and Development and this collaborative approach has helped to deliver a more strategic oversight of decision making.

Senior Forensic Services Managers attend the People Board, with additional attendees at first-line management level presenting on key people-related activities within their own areas (such as the progress of actions from staff surveys; implementation of MyCareer and the Forensic Services Core Values Framework).

Three sub-groups were established in 2020/21 covering: Equality, Diversity and inclusion; Wellbeing; and Maximising Attendance.

The approach to the People Plan development for the coming year aims to promote a mainstreaming approach to equality, diversity, inclusion (ED&I) and wellbeing, with a focus on “practical” activities and “cultural change”, rather than the separate strands of ED&I and Wellbeing. The anticipated benefits of this approach will be a repositioning of ownership, accountability and positive culture change. This approach will build on the foundation of all staff feeling valued, trusted and respected members of the organisation. Monitoring of progress will be via the Performance Framework.

The People Plan delivery will be supported by the Forensic Services Strategic Workforce Plan, which aims to ensure we have the right people with the right skill set, in the right location, at the right time and within our financial envelope. By understanding the changing priorities and future demands placed on Forensic Services, better-informed decision making will ensure effective delivery of our strategic outcomes.

The clarity of roles and responsibilities for the new management/ leadership roles in Forensic Services is a key dependency for the successful phased implementation of the new Operating Model. The Forensic Services Leadership Development Programme Lead has, in conjunction with stakeholders, designed a Leadership Induction and Management Development Framework which outlines a flexible programme to equip our new leaders for success.

The Police Scotland-led Your Leadership Matters Programme has, to date, been attended by 15 Senior Leaders in Forensic Services (2021 Programme and April 2023 Programme). A further roll-out to first level managers is anticipated. This programme complements the in-house Forensic Services leadership activities.

Forensic Services have participated in the Police Scotland/SPA Your Voice Matters survey (December 2021), the Sexism and Misogyny Survey (April 2023), as well as other internal staff engagement and feedback opportunities. Forensic Services are also members of the Police Scotland Your Voice Matters Steering Group, where progress and organisational learning on the action plan is monitored and discussed.

The new Forensic Services Operating Model has been designed with a focus on improving the overall environment in which we work, including providing greater management support, empowering our people, having clear career paths throughout the organisation.

The introduction of the key Capability Team Manager role was progressed in 2023, which builds on the successful introduction of this new role in Toxicology and the National Scenes Tasking Unit, with an emphasis on staff wellbeing and support.

Forensic Services have advertised a significant number of roles over the past year as we started to implement our new Operating Model – creating new positions to replace the previous structure. This has demonstrated many opportunities for career progression and movement across the organisation. As these movements occur, a risk-based approach is essential to mitigate any impacts and ensure continuity in service and support for our people. As we implement the new Operating Model further, it is anticipated that there will be additional examples to enable a more multi-skilled and flexible resource model.

A robust health and safety management and governance system is well-established in Forensic Services, which is supported by Police Scotland Health and Safety, and we report into the Police Scotland Health and Safety Board. Site and Operational Health and Safety Committees report into the overarching Forensic Services Health and Safety Board, where invitations are also extended to trade union colleagues.

Forensic Services are committed to fulfilling our statutory duties imposed under the Equality Act 2010 (Section 149) and the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), to help advance equality and to protect individuals’ rights and freedoms. To do this we continue to undertake Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessments (EqHRIA) for change and business development projects. EqHRIA ensures that we consider proactively the potential impact of any change and development projects on equality and human rights, using relevant evidence, in a systematic and structured way to be fairer and more responsive to the needs of those affected. EqHRIAs are reviewed by the Forensic Services internal People Board prior to approval and publication.

Effective communication is critical to successful delivery of any change programme and Forensic Services are committed to making sure our people are engaged and updated in all change activity. This is especially important as we progress through the implementation phase of our New Operating Model. A range of formal and informal communication methods continue to be used to support our staff through this period of change and uncertainty.

A people metrics dashboard is presented at the internal Forensic Services People Board to facilitate the analysis of absence data and the monitoring of trends. This data is presented quarterly to the SPA Forensic Services Committee (Pages 8-13 of the Q3 Forensic Services Performance Report) most recently on 5th February 2024.

The Forensic Services people-related risks are reported to the Forensic Services People Board where they are reviewed every two months. Due to the work carried out across Forensic Services in the past few months, the latest review saw a positive trend for the Forensic Service people-related risks with:
• Four risks being closed;
• Five risks having scores reduced;
• A reduction from six to three of risks outside appetite or tolerance (the remaining risks all relate to the impact of the change programme).