Public appointment: members reappointed to Scottish Police Authority

The Cabinet Secretary of Justice and Veterans, Keith Brown MSP, today announced the reappointments of Tom Halpin, Michelle Miller, Mary Pitcaithly and Jane Ryder as Members of the Scottish Police Authority.

Members

Tom Halpin is a former Deputy Chief Constable of Lothians and Borders Police, who was award the Queens Police Medal in 2008. He served as Chief Executive Officer of community justice organisation, SACRO, and has extensive experience leading third sector organisations in multi-agency partnerships. Tom is a chartered director and Fellow of the Institute of Directors. He previously chaired the Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector Forum and is a council member of the Scottish Association for Studying Offending. He has a strong record in corporate governance.

Michelle Miller joined the Authority in June 2018. In February 2020, she was nominated as the Authority’s Whistleblowing Champion and is currently chair of the Policing Performance Committee. She has worked in public services in Scotland since 1985, primarily in local government. Her man areas of responsibility have been in public protection and the shared responsibilities across social work, health and police for keeping communities safe, protecting vulnerable individuals and tackling offending behaviour. Michelle has extensive experience of both managing services and scrutinising performance and quality.

Mary Pitcaithly joined the authority in 2018. She is a qualified solicitor with over 30 years of experience of strategic leadership. Mary was Chief Executive of Falkirk Council from 1998 to 2018. She has a keen interest in the governance of public bodies and is skilled in building strategic collaborations. She was the convener of the Electoral Management Board for Scotland.

Jane Ryder is a qualified solicitor, with extensive experience as a Chief Executive and as a Board member. She specialises in governance and regulation across the public, private and third sectors and was the first Chief Executive of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). Her non-executive roles have also focused on new organisations and change management including the Marine Management Organisation, the Seafish Industry Authority, and Revenue Scotland, establishing the then new tax authority in Scotland. From 2015-2022 she was the Chair of Historic Environment Scotland, establishing the new lead public body with operational and regulatory responsibilities. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and was awarded an OBE in 2012.

Appointment

Tom Halpin will be reappointed from 28 March 2022 until 27 March 2026.

Michelle Miller will be reappointed from 1 June 2022 until 31 May 2026.

Mary Pitcaithly will be reappointed from 1 May 2022 until 30 April 2026.

Jane Ryder will be reappointed from 1 April 2022 until 31 March 2026.

These reappointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Remuneration and time commitment

These reappointments are part-time and attract a remuneration of £309 per day for a time commitment of 6 days per month.

Other ministerial appointments

Jane Ryder is the Chair of the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel which is an unremunerated position and has a time commitment of 1 day per month.

Michelle Miller is the Chair of the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration for which she receives £22,000 per year for a time commitment of 2 days per week.

Tom Halpin and Mary Pitcaithly 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. 

Tom Halpin, Michelle Miller, Mary Pitcaithly and Jane Ryder have had no political activity within the last five years.

Scottish Police Authority

The Scottish Police Authority was established following the introduction of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 to maintain policing, promote policing principles and the continuous improvement of policing, and to hold the Chief Constable to account. The Act allows for up to 15 members, of which one is the Chair, to be appointed by Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) works closely with the Chief Constable of Police Scotland and members of the executive team, to ensure the police service delivers the benefits of reform. It holds the Chief Constable fully to account for the policing of Scotland and the Chief Executive of the SPA for its role as employer of staff and the delivery of services to the board and policing. As well as its oversight role, the SPA is accountable for policing’s budget of around £1 billion and a workforce of over 17,000 police officers and 5,000 police staff.