Updates

Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24

The annual report and accounts (ARA) for 2023-24 were considered and approved by the Board in September 2024. Following final assurances related to pensions matters the external auditor has now signed the accounts, complying with the Audit Scotland deadline. The auditor has provided an unmodified audit opinion, and no section 22 report will be provided to the Scottish Parliament.

We expect the ARA to be laid in the Scottish Parliament in the coming week, after which point we will publish the document on the Authority's website. In addition, we will also concurrently publish a short and engaging summary version that highlights the operational and financial performance achievements for the year. Finally, the auditors annual audit report will be published on the Audit Scotland website.

Chair and Member Recruitment

The Scottish Government has indicated that the Public Appointments team will launch a recruitment process for a new Chair before the end of the year. In addition to this, we have two members who will step down at the end of their appointment terms on 31 March 2025 and a further two members on 31 March 2026. The Public Appointments Team are also responsible for the recruitment of all Authority Members and therefore we have initiated discussions on the need for a members recruitment process in 2025 to fill the vacancies these retirements will create.

Pay Award 2024-25

A headline 4.75% pay offer for police officers and staff was made on the 18 October 2024. This was rejected by the Staff Side of the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland (PNBS) and following a consultative ballot of their membership the offer was accepted by members of Unite but was rejected by the membership of Unison.

The Staff Side of PNBS formally registered a failure to agree with the independent PNBS secretariat on 29 October 2024 and subsequently the first stage (conciliation) of a three-stage process has commenced. Unison registered a failure to agree on 4 November 2024 triggering the formal dispute process under the JNCC recognition agreement. This is also a three-stage process, the first stage of which has now commenced.

Staff Survey Results – SPA Corporate

The results of the Your Voice Matters survey have been compiled, published and communicated to the workforce. A summary slide is attached at Appendix A. I am reassured with the results received for the Authority’s Corporate Team. The survey launched on 1 July 2024. 64% of the Corporate team completed the survey. The overall views shared were very positive, reflecting a small team with high levels of satisfaction (overall satisfaction score of 82%).

Of the seven themes, ‘Our Culture’ was the highest scoring area (86%) with very high levels of agreement with most aspects. The second highest scoring area (85%) was ‘Your Team’ with nearly all scores rated very highly. The only exception was in relation to having sufficient people resources which gained a moderate score.

The views on ‘Your Role’ were highly positive (82%) with 100% of respondents confirming they are ‘trusted to do my job’. The majority of scores in this area are high or very high with only two areas, manageable workload and making a difference to society receiving moderately high scores. Senior Managers (79%) and Supervisors / line managers (82%) received very high or high score for all aspects.

‘Our Organisation’ received an overall index score of 74%. This was the lowest overall score. Despite this, many of the scores attracted very high or high responses. Actively listening and communicating effectively, acting on feedback and motivating me to contribute were the statements that received moderately high and moderate scores. All the scores point to a high level of wellbeing, however two areas scored less high, ‘talk about how I am feeling’ and ‘reflect on the impact of my role’. In addition, to measure general wellbeing, colleagues were asked to comment on how they felt during the two weeks prior to completing the survey and this was analysed in line with the World Health Organisation criteria. A score of above 52% is considered a good wellbeing score. SPA Corporate results scored 64%.

The above results are a culmination of work that has been ongoing to understand and respond to feedback from colleagues. They highlight a positive journey. However, the results do highlight that 10% of my staff have stated that they personally have experienced some form of harassment, bullying or discrimination and 7% stated that they witnessed the same types of behaviour. No form of bullying or harassment is acceptable, and I will continue to work to remove this type of behaviour from the workplace.

Knowledge Exchange Visit – West Midlands OPCC

Authority staff undertook a knowledge exchange visit with West Midlands Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner at the end of October 2024, following from a visit made to the Authority earlier this year. I want to record my thanks to both Commissioner Simon Foster and Chief Executive Joanathan Jardine and their team for the informative and broad ranging visit they planned. During the visit the Authority staff learned more about the approach taken in West Midlands around performance reporting, diversion and early intervention, violence reduction, oversight of change, equality and community involvement.

Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Annual Summit

The annual APCC/NPCC summit took place on 19 and 20 November 2024, with a focus on positive policing for the future. Delegates had the opportunity to hear details on and discuss expected changes in crime over the next 10 years, public trust and confidence, measuring productivity, prevention and partnerships, race and equality and many other interesting and relevant topics. As an associate member of the association the Authority benefits from the opportunity to learn more about practice in other policing jurisdictions, the work of PCCs across England and Wales, and sharing practice examples from Scotland.

Scottish Railway Policing Committee

A meeting of the Scottish Railway Policing Committee (SRPC) took place on Thursday 19 September 2024 in the Authority’s Glasgow office. Tom Halpin and Mary Pitcaithly were in attendance and represented the Authority on this committee.

A report summarising the key issues covered at this meeting is included at Appendix B. Further detail can be found on the British Transport Police Authority website. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for Tuesday 26 November 2024.

Awards

Lindsey Davie, Information Management Lead won Police Staff Member of the Year at the Scottish Women’s Development Forum Awards which were held at Tulliallan on Thursday 24 October 2024. Lindsey was nominated in recognition of the work she has done over the last year on Digital Evidence Sharing Capacity (DESC).

Our Independent Custody Visiting Scheme Team were successful at picking up an outstanding external partner award at the Police Scotland Criminal Justice Services Division Annual Awards at Tulliallan on Thursday 19 September 2024.

Retirement of Martyn Evans, SPA Chair

This is the last Authority Meeting that Mr Evans will Chair and I would wish to acknowledge on behalf of Authority our appreciation for his leadership, direction and support which resulted in HMICS stating in its recent inspection report “progress since 2019 has been professional and considered, enabling a strategic scrutiny body that supports the service and all those working within it”.

I will close my report by wishing on behalf of all the staff at Authority our very best wishes to Mr Evans in all his future endeavours.