Scottish Police Authority and Scottish Government minutes: April 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Angela Constance MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs
• Fiona McQueen, Chair, Scottish Police Authority
• Lynn Brown, Chief Executive, Scottish Police Authority
• Penelope Cooper, Deputy Director, Police Division, Scottish Government
• Kirstin McPhee, Unit Head, Police Division, Scottish Government (note)

Items and actions

SPA priorities and Chair’s vision

The Cabinet Secretary congratulated the Chair on her recent appointment and invited the Chair to outline her priorities for the year ahead.

The Chair highlighted a number of areas of particular focus, including accountability and public confidence in policing. She noted that the issue of public confidence was multi-faceted with an opportunity to build on work already underway and the need to improve the timelines around handling of complaints.

The Chair also noted the importance of continued reform in policing and the need to better utilise police staff to free up officers for frontline which is a priority of the Chief Constable. 

The Chair said it was important to demonstrate  accountability, ensure milestones are met, and a clear understanding of what success looks like and how it is being measured. 

The Cabinet Secretary asked about workforce culture and the Chair responded saying that available data suggests an increase in recruitment of officers from more diverse backgrounds but acknowledged there was more still to do and this was a priority for the Authority’s People Committee. In addition, the Committee was supporting and seeking assurance around learning and improvement which will play an important role supporting a positive workforce culture. 

Police Scotland’s Three-Year Plan

The Cabinet Secretary and the Chair reflected on progress with Police Scotland’s Three-Year Plan. The Chair reiterated the progress with reform planning and the efforts to better utilise police staff to free up officers’ time. 

The Cabinet Secretary reaffirmed her support for the ongoing work in mental health and policing, a sentiment strongly echoed by the Chair. Lanarkshire was praised as the gold standard, highlighting the positive impact on reducing police officer presentations at A&E.

The roll out of Body Worn Video was also discussed, with both the Cabinet Secretary and the Chair acknowledging the positive impact this would have on compliance, providing evidence to the COPFS, and supporting oversight bodies like the PIRC.

SPA appointments/recruitment

The Chief Executive advised that the advert for her replacement will go live next week and she is focussing on a number of priorities before finishing up, including the induction of new Board members. 

Complaint handling

The Cabinet Secretary raised the issue of delays in meeting the 56 days in the PIRC statutory guidance with the Chair who acknowledged issues with complaint handling. She committed to supporting improvements.  

Live Facial Recognition (LFR)

The Cabinet Secretary indicated her support for the use of LFR to support investigations, noting it was ethical and proportional. The Chair also highlighted the benefit of its use for missing persons and committed to keeping the Cabinet Secretary up to date with developments.