Report Summary
This report provides members of the Scottish Police Authority's Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee with an update on best value progress across SPA Corporate and SPA Forensic Services.
To access the full document please open the PDF document above.
To view as accessible content please use the sections below. (Note that tables and some appendixes are not available as accessible content).
Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee - 21 May 2025
Date : 21 May 2025
Location : online
Report detail
BACKGROUND
The Authority, Chief Constable and Accountable Officer have specific
responsibilities with respect to Best Value.
Audit Scotland and HMICS will be undertaking a Best Value audit of policing during 2025, with and audit scope expected to be published during May.
The previous update to ARAC provided an overview of Best Value responsibilities, guidance, expected timelines and progress to date.
SPA Corporate and Forensic Services had committed to completing their Best Value self-assessment by the end of the financial year and have met that deadline.
SPA CORPORATE
SPAC has conducted annual Best Value self-assessments for the last three years and reported these to ARAC.
The self-assessment results for 2024/25 are shown at Appendix A.
The report finds continued improvement across all the Best Value themes, with compliance now evidenced against most indicators. The results indicate 92% compliance and only 7% partial compliance, which translates as 5 indicators scored as partially compliant (plus 1% n/a). No indicators have been assessed as non-compliant.
Actions to address partial compliance, and any AfI’s (areas for improvement) identified for continuous improvement have been integrated within the SPA delivery plan for 2025/26.
SPA FORENSIC SERVICES
The first formal Best Value self-assessment has been completed by SPA Forensic Service. These results were publicly presented to the previous February 2025 meeting of the ARAC.
Staff are ensuring that all evidence is collated in preparation for the HMICS/ Audit Scotland audit and inspection.
AUDIT SCOPE – BEST VALUE IN POLICING
On 9 May 2025, Audit Scotland and HMICS published the joint Audit Scope for the Best Value in policing audit and inspection. This is available on the Audit Scotland and HMICS websites and included at Appendix B.
The scope outlines the overall aims of the audit as well as five broader aims. It also summarises how they will carry out the audit and notes they expect to publish their findings in early 2026.
Authority and Police Scotland staff are currently working with the joint audit team to arrange interviews and provide audit evidence. An initial kick off meeting is scheduled for 22 May 2025 with attendance from the Accountable Officer, Chief Constable and Director of Forensic Services joined by senior representatives from Audit Scotland and HMICS.
Further updates on progress and findings will provided to ARAC as the audit progresses.