Public appointment: Members appointed to Risk Management Authority

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Neil Gray MSP, today announced the appointment of Dr Stuart Doig and Sharon Stirrat as Members of the Risk Management Authority.

Members

Dr Stuart Doig has worked as a consultant forensic psychiatrist for over 15 years. He currently works at Scotland's national high secure unit at the State Hospital, Carstairs and has also worked across local secure services and prisons. In these roles he has contributed to the assessment and management of complex risk in hospital, custody and the community. Since 2010, he has provided risk assessment reports to the High Court on individuals being considered for an Order for Lifelong Restriction. Dr Doig has also held senior medical management roles in NHS with responsibility for clinical governance of mental health and learning disability services, supporting the delivery of service improvement. His combination of clinical and governance experience brings a system-wide perspective to the work of the Risk Management Authority.

Sharon Stirrat is an experienced Social Work Manager and Director of Operations working across Justice Social Work in Local Authorities and Third Sector for over 40 years. She worked as a Professional Adviser for two years with Scottish Government Community Justice Directorate on the Reducing Reoffending Programme which involved writing national guidance and leading on a number of justice and effective practice related projects. Sharon also engages at strategic level with committees and programme boards, on various justice policy and practice areas including the prison population, prison-based social work, prevention, community sentences and public protection. She also collaborates with key stakeholders including Academics, Scottish Prison Service, Home Office, Parole Board for Scotland, COSLA, Community Justice Scotland and many more. Her skill areas include leadership, people management, communication, coaching and quality assurance.

Appointments

The appointments will be for 5 years and will run from 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2031.

The appointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Remuneration

The appointments are part-time and attract a remuneration of £246.88 per day for a time commitment of 15 days per year.

Other ministerial appointments

Stuart Doig and Sharon Stirrat do not hold any other public appointments.

Political activity 

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.  However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.   

Stuart Doig and Sharon Stirrat have had no political activity within the last five years. 

Background

The Risk Management Authority (RMA) was established in 2005 under the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2023.

The RMA’s strategic purpose is to make Scotland safer by reducing serious harm.  This is broken down into four strategic aims are as follows:

• Develop evidence-based, defensible and ethical risk assessment and management;
• Set and raise standards to continuously improve the quality of risk assessment and management;
• Deliver specialised training to improve skills, knowledge and confidence in risk assessment and management; and
• To support justice agencies and influence policy in risk assessment and management.