Report detail

Police Staff Pay Award

I was delighted, on 10 September, to announce that a two-year pay deal for police staff in Scotland has been agreed. The deal covers 2025-2027.

The agreement will see staff receive a 4% pay increase from April 2025 to March 2026, followed by a further 3.5% increase from April 2026 to March 2027. The same uplift applies to a range of allowances and includes an increase to 26 weeks full pay for maternity and adoption leave from April 2026.

The pay deal includes a commitment to the pay award remaining at least one percentage point above the average Consumer Price Index rate each year and safeguards earnings against the rising cost of living.

This two-year pay deal for staff mirrors the offer accepted by police officers in August. It offers a degree of financial stability over the next two years and recognises the essential role staff play across policing.

I want to put on record my thanks to everyone involved, particularly the Trade Unions, for their constructive dialogue in reaching this agreement.

Scottish Police Memorial Service

On Wednesday 3 September 2025 I joined the Chief Constable and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice along with other stakeholders at the Scottish Police Memorial Service in Tulliallan. I attended to pay my respects and lay a wreath on behalf of the Authority. This was a particularly touching service, attended by officers and family members, to remember those known to have died on duty.

Independent Custody Visiting Scotland - Annual Conference

Independent Custody Visiting Scotland (ICVS) is a statutory service that monitors the welfare of people detained in police custody. The service is made of up volunteers, drawn from communities across Scotland who visit custody centres unnanounced and speak to those detained. Feedback is captured and reported back to the Authority which informs the Authority’s scrutiny of policing.

Each year, the volunteers come together to discuss issues and celebrate their contribution and I was delighted to attend and host this year’s conference in Edinburgh on Saturday 6 September 2025.
3.3 A trauma informed focus to the conference this year saw volunteers learn more about trauma, its impact on individuals in police custody and what visitors can do to make their contact more person centred and trauma informed. We had a range of insightful inputs from:

• Chief Superintendent Chris Stewart, Police Scotland’s Criminal Justice Service Division
• Shumela Ahmed, Managing Director, The Resilience Learning Partnership
• Jessica Davidson, Health Care Professional working in police custody and forensic examination healthcare, and
• Martin Davies, mental health specialist and author.

The conference is also an opportunity to celebrate the dedication and commitment of all visitors who have volunteered with the scheme over the past decade. I was honoured to present a number of awards to volunteers who had reached key milestones and thank them all for their dedicated service.

My final thanks goes to the Authority’s own ICVS team who manage and coordinate the volunteers and their work – Kirsty Scott, Lynne Pinkerton, Colette Watson and Mark Sherman.

International Association of Women Police Annual Training Conference (IAWP)

On Monday 8 September 2025, I attended the opening ceremony of the International Association of Women Police Annual Training Conference (IAWP). The ceremony included the presentation of international awards to outstanding female officers for their specialist accomplishments such as leadership, excellence in performance and bravery. The conference was attended by female officers and support staff from across the globe travelling to Glasgow to participate in a week of specialist, inspirational police training.

Engagement with Trade Unions and Staff Associations

My regular enagement with the statutory assocations and trade unions continues. Since our meeting last month, Tom Halpin and I have met with the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) to discuss a range of issues important to members and priorities for policing. I am grateful to the SPF for their ongoing constructive dialogue.

Emma Caldwell Public Inquiry

On Thursday 4 September 2025, I met with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice along with the Chief Constable, DCC Alan Speirs KPM and ACC Lynn Ratcliff to discuss the terms of reference for the Public Inquiry into Emma Caldwell’s case.

From the Authority’s perspective, the terms of reference must be sufficiently broad to allow the Inquiry to establish what went wrong during the handling of the case, and why; restore the family’s confidence in the justice system; and reassure the public that whatever went wrong will not be repeated in other cases.

Grant Thornton, External Auditor

As part of my ongoing engagement with key stakeholders, I met with the Authority’s external audit partner, Grant Thornton on Monday 15 September 2025. We discussed the ongoing challenges and risk facing policing and I was encouraged by the auditor’s feedback that the Authority’s ARAC is effective, with a good mix of skills from Members and scrutiny at the appropriate level.

Retirement of Lynn Brown OBE, Chief Executive

The Authority’s Chief Executive, Lynn Brown OBE will retire on Tuesday 30 September 2025 after 6-years in the role. I want to thank and pay tribute to Lynn who has been instrumental in driving improvement within the Authority itself but importantly across the policing system. She has been a formidable public servant who has shown great commitment to supporting and strengthening policing though effective governance and oversight. Lynn’s contribution cannot be overstated, and she leaves a great legacy and highly effective and professional team who will miss her.

We wish Lynn well for her well deserved retirement.