Report detail

Draft Scottish Budget 2026/27

The Scottish Government published the proposed Scottish Budget for 2026/27 on 13 January 2026. The budget provides for a £90m cash-terms uplift to revenue funding as well as an increased capital funding allocation to policing. As Accountable Officer for the police budget, I am working closely with Police Scotland and Forensic Services to understand the operational impact of the draft allocation. Efforts are ongoing to develop and present a balanced budget to the Resources Committee and then full Authority in March.

Best Value Audit and Inspection

Audit Scotland and HMICS published a Joint Best Value audit of policing in Scotland on 22 January 2026. This is the first inspection of this type since the creation of the national police service. The report found that policing in Scotland is well managed and led but must continue the journey of reform.

As Accountable Officer, I welcome the report and in particular the recognition of the effective leadership, governance and culture of continuous improvement that exists across policing in Scotland and I fully support the view that more must be done to continue the police reform journey. The report makes seven improvement recommendations. A joint improvement plan is being developed to be presented to the Authority’s Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee (ARAC) in May 2026, with overall progress monitored by ARAC. The Report is also a substantive item on this Board agenda – I am grateful to Audit Scotland and HMICS for their attendance.

Audit Scotland and HMICS presented their report to the Public Audit Committee of the Scottish Parliament on 11 February 2026. The Chair and I will attend an evidence session at the same Committee on 11 March 2026 about the Best Value report and recommendations.

Board Member Induction

In January and early February 2026, the Authority’s Corporate team were pleased to welcome six new Board Members following appointment by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice. Nicola Anderson, Garry Forsyth KPM, Brian Howarth, Nancy Johnson, Amina Khan and Andrew Richmond have begun an intensive induction programme, and I am grateful for their commitment and flexibility to accommodate this.

The induction programme takes place over several months sitting alongside Members responsibilities on various committees and groups they have been appointed to. As well as learning about the legislative framework, employer responsibilities, public body duties etc, Members also have an opportunity to spend time with the leadership teams at Police Scotland, Forensic Services and with key stakeholders learning more about the wider police scrutiny environment.

Police Appeals Tribunals

Members will be aware that Police Constables dismissed or reduced in rank as a result of misconduct proceedings have a right of appeal to a Police Appeals Tribunals. Police Appeals Tribunals consist of three experienced lawyers. The Authority assumed responsibility for the administration of Police Appeals Tribunals on 1 April 2013 in terms of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012.

Since 2013 there have not been a large volume of appeals from constables to Police Appeals Tribunals – on average the Authority has dealt with only one or two appeals each year.

Following consultation with stakeholders the Scottish Government legislated in 2025 for the transfer of Police Appeals Tribunals from the Authority to the Scottish Tribunals structure with effect from 29 December 2025. This transfer formed part of a wider programme of transfers which has been ongoing for a number of years, and which has seen a diverse range of standalone tribunals such as the Mental Health Tribunal and the Transport Appeals Tribunal become part of the Scottish Tribunals structure.

On 29 December 2025, the Authority’s responsibility for the administration of Police Appeals Tribunals ceased. The Authority’s Legal team worked closely with the Scottish Tribunals in the weeks and months leading up to 29 December to ensure that the transition went smoothly. There were three appeals from constables to Police Appeals Tribunals ongoing as at 29 December – these have all transferred to the Scottish Tribunals.

Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC)

Authority staff attended the most recent general meeting of the APCC on 28 and 29 January 2026 to provide insight and learning on our experience of policing reform in Scotland. This input built on existing engagement with the APCC and Home Office Reform Team, including a visit in early December 2025, as part of the work to develop the reform approach for England and Wales.

Mental Health Distress and Crisis

On 12 February 2026 the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Research Data Scotland, along with the Authority, held an event on mental health distress and crisis. The event marked the first anniversary of the publication of the Framework for Collaboration which sets out principles for a multi-agency collaborative approach to supporting individuals experiencing distress or crisis. The event brought together a wide range of partners to discuss progress to date and next steps in delivering on the whole system commitments made in February 2025.

Who? Cares Scotland Corporate Parenting Training

In November 2025, the Authority's Leadership team attended Corporate Parenting training, provided by Who Cares? Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government. This training supports senior leaders to implement practice to support the Authority's Corporate Parenting responsibilities as outlined in The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. This was a valuable and positive session, where we discussed how the Authority’s corporate team can collectively contribute to improving the lives of people with experience of care across Scotland. I am grateful to Who Cares? Scotland for leading this session.

Knowledge Exchange

As part of the Authority’s commitment to knowledge exchange we have been participating or hosting a range of seminars on topical issues. In December 2025 we held a victim focused webinar with input from Police Scotland, Greater Manchester Police, and Victim Support Scotland. The webinar was well attended and considered how policing and partners in Scotland will deliver on the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025. Attendees also heard about an innovative ‘making a difference’ toolkit developed by Greater Manchester Police.

We are also participating in a national conference on trust and confidence in policing, led by the NPCC. At the most recent session, held in December 2025, Authority staff spoke about the Authority’s approach to independent and representative polling of the Scottish population. We look forward to ongoing engagement in the development of consistent national data.

Scottish Railway Policing Committee

A meeting of the Scottish Railway Policing Committee took place on Tuesday 25 November 2025. Tom Halpin and Mary Pitcaithly were in attendance and represented the Authority at this committee.

A report summarising the key issues covered at this meeting is included at Appendix A. Further detail can be found on the British Transport Police Authority website. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for Tuesday 10 March 2026.

The British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) announced on 28 January 2026 that Tricia Hayes has been appointed as the new Chair of the BTPA. She will take up the role on 5 March 2026, succeeding Ron Barclay-Smith.

Your Voice Matters – Headline Results

The results of the Authority’s annual Your Voice Matters survey of the corporate team (circa 50 staff) have been published and are appended at Appendix B of my report. The response rate was 89% which is a significantly increase from the 64% that responded last year.

Positive scores were reported across all themes with the overall engagement index increasing to 87% (82% in 2024/25) indicating that high levels of satisfaction remain. The survey results are another step on the journey that the Authority’s Corporate team has been on to understand and respond to colleague feedback. Leaders and line managers are engaging with their teams to understand what additional work is required in the areas that have scored less positively.

I am grateful to all staff for their continued constructive engagement and feedback.