COVID-19 policing policy and Operation Talla: FOI release

Information requested

1. Please clarify whether Scottish Ministers, the Permanent Secretary, or senior civil servants issued any instruction or strategic direction forming the basis of Operation Talla.

2. Please clarify whether any communication took place between the Scottish Government and Police Scotland relating to complaint handling, crime recording or non-recording, or operational priorities concerning COVID-19 policies.

3. Please state who did authorise or instruct Police Scotland regarding Operation Talla.

4. Please state whether any instruction came from the UK Government, Cabinet Office, Home Office, National Police Chiefs' Council, or other body.

5. Please state whether Operation Talla documentation is held anywhere within the Scottish Government estate, including special advisers, resilience units, or COVID-19 response structures.

6. Who authorised Operation Talla and issued instruction to Police Scotland to implement it.

7. If the Scottish Government does not know, please confirm explicitly which body does.

Response

Q1. Please clarify whether Scottish Ministers, the Permanent Secretary, or senior civil servants issued any instruction or strategic direction forming the basis of Operation Talla.

A. The Scottish Government were responsible for the development and setting of coronavirus legislation, which included additional powers for Police Scotland to enforce the legislation. However, the enforcement of this legislation was an operational policing matter. As the Chief Constable has operational independence, no guidance or instruction on enforcement was produced by the Scottish Government. Police Scotland developed their own guidance and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which are held by Police Scotland.

For additional context, the UK and Scottish Governments introduced separate legislation to reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in response to the outbreak of the pandemic. A key element of the legislation was the additional powers that were given to police officers which enabled them to help protect public health by ensuring that the restrictions in place across the country were enforceable and in turn, being complied with. The fundamental principles of both pieces of legislation were to reduce transmission and keep people safe.

As set out in my response to your previous FOI, the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 stipulates that the Chief Constable is responsible for the policing of Scotland and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) for this, not to Scottish Ministers directly. These arrangements are in place to ensure public confidence that the police act independently, free from unwarranted Ministerial interference.

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. As the body responsible for the oversight of policing in Scotland, the SPA produced the following public briefing summarising police scrutiny in Scotland, which you may find helpful to refer to in order to understand the policing landscape in Scotland: Police Scrutiny in Scotland – Public Briefing | Scottish Police Authority

In addition to the existing system of oversight and governance, the approach adopted by Police Scotland throughout the coronavirus pandemic was guided via oversight provided by the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) on Police Use of Temporary Powers Relating to the Coronavirus Crisis. The IAG reported directly to the SPA, as the governance and oversight body for Police Scotland.

The group consistently recognised the need for operational independence on the part of the Chief Constable and the independent role, and responsibilities, of the Lord Advocate and the Procurator Fiscal in relation to policing in Scotland and the investigation and prosecution of crime. The IAG concluded that ‘Police Scotland has used their powers proportionately and in line with human rights throughout the pandemic’.

All information relating to the IAG, including any findings or reports, are held by the SPA.

I hope this answer provides further clarity on the Scottish Government’s role in the policing of the pandemic and highlights why any information on operational policing matters, i.e instructions on the enforcement of coronavirus legislation, are held by Police Scotland and the SPA.

Q2. Please clarify whether any communication took place between the Scottish Government and Police Scotland relating to complaint handling, crime recording or non-recording, or operational priorities concerning COVID-19 policies.

A. Complaint handling, crime recording or non-recording, and operational priorities concerning COVID-19 policies are all operational policing matters. As highlighted above in the answer to Q.1, the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 stipulates that the Chief Constable has operational independence and is responsible for the policing of Scotland, and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) for this, not to Scottish Ministers directly. Any information on operational policing matters, including instructions on complaint handling, crime recording or non-recording, or operational priorities concerning COVID-19 policies, is held by Police Scotland or the SPA.

For further clarity, the Scottish Government communicated frequently with Police Scotland throughout the pandemic, with regular engagement taking place with Police Scotland’s Operation Talla team. The purpose of this engagement was to ensure that Police Scotland’s views were considered in the development of legislation, policy, and communication approaches. The Scottish Government did not instruct Police Scotland on operational policing matters, including issues relating to the enforcement of legislation.

Q3 Please state who did authorise or instruct Police Scotland regarding Operation Talla.

A. Operation Talla was the coordinated UK policing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Police Scotland initiated Operation Talla in Scotland. As previously highlighted, the Chief Constable is responsible for the policing of Scotland, including Operation Talla, and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) for this, not to Scottish Ministers directly.

More information on the establishment of Operation Talla in Scotland can be found in the report, presented by the former Chief Constable Iain Livingston to the SPA on 30 June 2020, providing an update on Operation Talla. It can be accessed at the following link: rep-b-20200625-item-4a-police-response-to-covid-19.pdf

Another resource you may find helpful is a report presented to the SPA, by Police Scotland, providing members with an overview of the Organisational Learning taken from Operation Unicorn and Operation Talla. It can be accessed at the following link: Organisational Learning - Operation Unicorn/Talla - 21 June 2023 | Scottish Police Authority

Q4. Please state whether any instruction came from the UK Government, Cabinet Office, Home Office, National Police Chiefs’ Council, or other body.

A. As set out in the response to your original FOI, justice is a devolved matter and policing is a matter for the Scottish Government. As such, the Scottish Government received no instruction from the UK Government, Cabinet Office, Home Office, National Police Chiefs’ Council, or other body, in regards to the policing of the pandemic or Operation Talla.

Operation Talla was an operational policing matter, and information on ‘instruction’ from the UK Government, Cabinet Office, Home Office, National Police Chiefs’ Council, or other body to Police Scotland, is information held by Police Scotland.

Q5. Please state whether Operation Talla documentation is held anywhere within the Scottish Government estate, including special advisers, resilience units, or COVID-19 response structures.

A. For the purposes of this answer, we are interpreting this question as asking if the Scottish Government holds documentation produced by Operation Talla. The Scottish Government does hold documentation produced by Operation Talla.

However, the Scottish Government does not routinely have access to or hold Operation Talla documentation relating to operational policing matters. This includes the information listed in your previous FOI i.e. Gold/Silver command minutes, directives, and decision logs. This documentation is held by Police Scotland, and should you wish to access this information, a request should be made to Police Scotland for this information.

For further context, an example of the kind of Operation Talla documentation that is likely to be held by Scottish Government would be a daily synopsis which was provided by the Operation Talla team. These reports provided detail on the levels of public engagement, compliance and enforcement in line with the 4Es’ (Engage, Explain and Encourage, only then Enforce) approach adopted by Police Scotland. This included data on the issuing of FPNsover the preceding 24 hours. Workforce absence figures, including Covid-19 related absences were also detailed.

These reports were produced by the Operation Talla team within Police Scotland, for the purpose of recording/monitoring the use of powers. Although they were regularly shared with the Scottish Government, they are Police Scotland documents and are held by Police Scotland in their entirety.

Q6. Who authorised Operation Talla and issued instruction to Police Scotland to implement it.

A. Please refer to the answer given for Q3.

Q7. If the Scottish Government does not know, please confirm explicitly which body does.

A. Please refer to the answer given for Q3.

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