Police Negotiating Board for Scotland (PNBS)

Enabling legislation

The legislation for the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland (PNBS) is set out under the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, in particular Chapter 8A and Schedule 2A. The body was brought into force through Regulations and two Commencement Orders (No. 7 and No. 8) which were laid before the Scottish Parliament on 4 May 2023, coming into force on 17 August 2023. PNBS replaced the PNB which was abolished at that time.

Public body status

PNBS is a new Scottish public body, set as an ‘other significant body’ with the Chair appointed by the Scottish ministers.  

PNBS constitution

In accordance with paragraph 5 of Schedule 2A of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, the Scottish ministers prepared and published the PNBS constitution.

The constitution sets out how the PNBS will carry out its functions to negotiate the pay, terms and conditions of police officers in Scotland. The constitution also sets out how conciliation and arbitration should be used when all other options are exhausted.

Sponsorship branch

PNBS is sponsored by the Scottish Government, Safer Communities, Police Division. You can contact the sponsorship branch on police_division_hub_mailbox@gov.scot

Police Negotiating Board

Up until 17 August 2023, the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) negotiated the terms and conditions for police officers in Scotland.

You can find further information on the PNB in the archive. This includes a guide to the Police Negotiating Board, annual reports and circulars. You can also view PNB content prior to 2018.

We publish minutes, annual reports, circulars and other relevant material subject to the approval of the Chair and requirements of freedom of information legislation.

Annual reports 

The Chair of the PNBS is required to produce an annual report for Scottish ministers, detailing the business of the PNBS for the previous 12 months up to 31 December each year. 

You can find annual reports from the predecessor to the PNBS, the Police Negotiating Board, on this page.

Circulars

Circulars set out agreements between staff and official sides. Approved circulars are published on this page.

You can find circulars from the Police Negotiating Board on this page.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 requires PNBS as a Scottish public body to make information available to the public and respond to requests for information. The Act also requires that we produce and maintain a publication scheme.

The PNBS has adopted the Model Publication Scheme produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner. The scheme forms the basis of the PNBS guide to information.

Our guide to information provides details of information that we publish and how to access it. The guide also gives details of any charges that may be applied for information requests. If you would prefer a copy of this guide to information in an alternative format please contact us using the details above.

You can request information not available on our website by using the contact details on this page.

PNBS content is hosted on the Scottish Government website. Read more information on how we are working to make gov.scot as accessible as possible.

We can provide information in alternative formats for those who are do not want to, or are unable to, access information online. If you would like information in an alternative format or would like to report an report an accessibility problem, please contact us at PNBS@gov.scot or through the postal address listed in the contacts section.