Response

The Scottish Police Authority has considered your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA).

In terms of part one of your request, the following reports presented to the Authority’s Complaints and Conduct Committee are provided.

• Item 13 Police Scotland Conduct Report presented on 27 February 2025
• Additional Conduct Information and Q3 Suspended Officer Timelines presented on 27 February 2025.
• Item 10 Police Scotland Conduct Overview presented on 5 June 2025.

Some information has been redacted where this is considered to be personal information or that of a third party as this is exempt in terms of FOISA. For example, low numbers which may allow individuals to be identified when correlated with other information have been redacted. Similarly, dates of suspension, reporting to COPFS and return to Police Scotland have been redacted for the same reason.

These exemptions are absolute and do not require application of the public interest test. While you may have a legitimate interest in disclosure of this information, it is our view that those interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subjects.

Some information, under the heading Complex Case, Legal and Associaton Challenge has been redacted as disclosure would, or would be likely to, predujice substantially the effective conduct of public affairs. This exemption requires application of the public interest test.

Public Interest Test

The public interest in favour of disclosure of the requested information:

• This would adhere to the basic principle of being open and transparent.

• This would support public understanding of the work of the Complaints and Conduct Committee.

The public interest factors in favour of maintaining the exemption being:

• The information is related to ongoing matters. Disclosure of information that may identify individual cases could prejudice the process if causing increased speculation and scrutiny, ultimately delaying the resolution of sensitive legal matters.

• Disclosure of the information may result in this information not being included in future reporting to the Committee. This would prejudice substantially the ability of the Committee to discharge their duties effectively in accordance with the Authority’s Corporate Governance Framework.

Therefore, on balance, our conclusion is that maintaining the exemptions outweigh that of disclosure.

In terms of part two of your request, we would refer you to the Standing Orders detailed in the Authority’s Corporate Governance Framework which is available on our website. Section 20 lists circumstances in which meetings may be held in private, and papers and reports need not be published. The published agendas for meetings of the Complaints and Conduct Committee in February and June 2025 state that the Police Scotland Conduct Report will be considered in private for the reasons noted in Standing Orders section 20. It is considered that at the time of the Committee meetings the following points apply to these reports:

1. a) information relating to identified or identifiable individuals (including members of staff) could be disclosed where there is a risk of a breach of data protection legislation.
2. d) matters to be discussed are the subject of legal proceedings (including misconduct or disciplinary proceedings) or where the information to be discussed consists of or includes legal advice provided to the Authority or to a third party.
3. e) an obligation of confidentiality exists in respect of the information to be discussed.
4. h) discussion in public would be likely to inhibit the free and frank provision of advice or the free and frank exchange of views for the purpose of deliberation.

In terms of the last question in part two of your request, “what plans there are to make this information publicly accessible in the future”?

The Authority currently holds no recorded information that would answer your question. However, to assist, we can advise that assurance reporting in respect of officer misconduct is currently under review, including a focus on ensuring an appropriate balance of public and private reporting.