Public appointment: Members appointed to the Scottish Police Authority

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Angela Constance MSP, today announced the appointment of Nicola Anderson, Garry Forsyth KPM, Brian Howarth, Nancy Johnson and Andrew Richmond as Members of the Scottish Police Authority.

 

Members

Nicola Anderson is a senior leader in technology, innovation, regulation and public policy, with extensive experience across the public and private sectors. She has held senior roles in financial services regulation and led the strategic growth of Scotland’s fintech cluster as Chief Executive of FinTech Scotland. She brings deep expertise in research-led innovation and has contributed to UK and Scottish innovation and industrial strategies, supporting sustainable economic growth and digital transformation.

Garry Forsyth KPM retired from policing as Chief Constable of Bedfordshire in 2023 following a career in six different forces around the UK. He was one of the UK’s Counter Terror Commanders, and a highly experienced Gold Commander for Public Order, Firearms and Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear (CBRN). He was also one of the Gold Commanders for the Olympic Games. He has an excellent understanding of managing risk and extensive experience in leading large scale change and transformation programmes. He was awarded the King’s Police Medal in 2023 for distinguished services to policing. He is an independent member of the Parole Board Review Committee for England and Wales.

Brian Howarth is a qualified Accountant with 30 years experience as a public sector auditor. He spent the last 15 years in a senior role in Audit Scotland. He has worked across Scotland with public sector organisations and has wide experience of engaging with boards, committees and senior officers. He considers that he has contributed to improvements in financial management and ensuring Best Value in the delivery of public services.

Nancy Johnson has more than 20 years experience in senior legal, regulatory and compliance roles, in particular in regulated sectors such as telecoms and financial services. She has worked for several regulators, both in the UK and in the EU and also brings skills in leadership and governance of complex organisations through legal and cultural change, and in legal and regulatory risk management. In addition to consultancy work, she is a Board Member of Lanarkshire Carers, which supports carers across North and South Lanarkshire. She also has roles with several organisations in the charity, health and social care sectors, and works with Age Scotland in several capacities.

Andrew Richmond has extensive non-executive experience in finance, audit, risk, strategy and governance. In his executive career as a UK Equities Analysist in the City of London, he sat on a wide range of boards in the public, private and not for profit sector. He was previously Deputy Chair of the Scottish Ambulance Service and Chair of Hub North Scotland. He is currently Chair of Greensleeves Care and Vice-Chair of Sue Ryder.

 

Appointments

The appointments are for four years from 5 January 2026 until 4 January 2030.

The appointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

 

Remuneration and time commitment

The appointments attract remuneration of £324.92 per day for a time commitment of up to six days per month.

 

Other Ministerial appointments

Garry Forsyth is a Non Executive Member of NHS Dumfries and Galloway and receives £276.00 per day, for a time commitment of one day per week.

Nicola Anderson, Brian Howarth, Nancy Johnson and Andrew Richmond 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.

Nicola Anderson, Garry Forsyth, Brian Howarth, Nancy Johnson and Andrew Richmond have had no political activity within the last five years.

 

Background

The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 created the Authority to:

• maintain the Police Service
• promote the policing principles set out in the 2012 Act
• promote and support continuous improvement in the policing of Scotland
• keep under review the policing of Scotland
• hold the Chief Constable to account for the policing of Scotland.

The Authority consists of a Board of up to 15 non‐executive public appointees from a range of professional backgrounds and experiences. The Board is supported by an Executive team of circa 50 staff. The Authority’s Chief Executive is the principal adviser to the Board and the Accountable Officer to the Scottish Parliament for the £1.64 billion police budget.

The Authority is also responsible for Scotland’s 590 strong crime scene‐to‐court forensic service and for maintaining a network of volunteer independent custody visitor who monitor the welfare of people detained in custody in Scotland.

The Scottish Police Authority also appoints all Police Scotland senior officers (Assistant Chief Constable and above). The Authority also assesses complaint and conduct issues related to senior officers.