A review by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) into the openness and transparency of the way that the Scottish Police Authority conducts its business has concluded that there is a need for the Authority to genuinely engage with its stakeholders and listen to the views of those with an interest in the policing of Scotland.
The inspection was brought forward at the request of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and followed from concerns raised by the Scottish Parliament Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee (PAPLS) and the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing.
Number | Recommendation |
|---|---|
1 | The Scottish Police Authority should revert to holding Board and committee meetings in public and Board and committee papers should be made publicly available in advance of meetings. |
2 | The Scottish Police Authority should review its current meeting structures and make a clear distinction between public committees and private working groups. The revised meeting structure should be clearly documented in the Corporate Governance Framework and relevant terms of reference. |
3 | The Scottish Police Authority should cease the current practice of holding a private pre-meeting of the Board on the day of the formal Board Meeting and ensure that all items for public decision by the Board are discussed at the formal meeting. This should not prevent the use of private pre-agenda planning meetings. |
4 | The Scottish Police Authority should ensure that all formal Board and committee meetings are publicised with their full agendas, indicating which items are to be considered in private. The Chief Executive in consultation with the Chair and Chairs of committees should determine which items are to be held in private and all papers tabled in private session should be clearly marked with the specific criteria used to justify their exclusion from public sessions. Minutes should be maintained for all private sessions of the Board and committees. |
5 | The Scottish Police Authority should review its approach to minute taking, including the format, quality, approval, storage, publication and retention of minutes for all private, closed and public meetings. The revised processes should be clearly documented in the Corporate Governance Framework and made publicly available in relevant terms of reference. |
6 | The Scottish Police Authority should consider postponing the planned internal six-month review of corporate governance arrangements and instead develop future proposals to evaluate the improvements to governance arrangements envisaged from this inspection and other scheduled reviews, audit and inspection activity. This should not inhibit further improvement of the framework in the short term. |
7 | The Scottish Police Authority should ensure that all new Board members receive training in both On Board guidance and diversity and equality awareness as part of their induction programme. This should also be included in regular refresher sessions for existing members. |
8 | The Scottish Police Authority should hold a development session with the Chair, Chief Executive and all Board members to ensure there is consistent and clear understanding of On Board guidance, collective responsibility, supporting processes and relative roles. |
9 | The Scottish Police Authority should introduce a formal procedure for Board members to raise and escalate grievances or other workplace issues. |
10 | The Scottish Police Authority should review its processes for addressing concerns around a member’s conduct. This should include the authority and processes by which a member may be removed from committees or otherwise subjected to restrictions that would prevent them from fulfilling their statutory function. This should also include an appeals process. These revised processes should be clearly documented in the SPA Standing Orders. |
11 | The Scottish Police Authority should as a matter of urgency review its internal executive structures and provide the necessary capacity to support the Chair, Board and Authority to fulfil its statutory functions. |