Police Negotiating Board: Annual Report 2020/21

Part 2

Chairman’s comments

3.1 It has been the practice that the Chair of the PNB should offer some personal remarks in this Report, and I continue that practice here. These are of course my remarks and do not represent the views of the Sides.

3.2 The Scottish Police Consultative Forum (SPCF) continues to be a useful vehicle for discussions and scoping out of issues that may then be brought to the PNB for completion. The SPCF itself has developed over this year to become a more useful part of the structures available to discuss policing in Scotland generally. While progress on the main annual pay review has been slow, much progress has been made in our Technical Working Group to address many smaller but important parts of officers’ terms and conditions. The work of representatives of both Sides here is to be commended.

3.3 Progress in the discussions around the main Staff Pay Claim this year has been slow and frustrating for both sides. Much of the goodwill generated through the previous multi-year pay deal has been lost through the inability for either side to identify the main financial parameters for bargaining. Where financial parameters cannot be identified within budgets, any public sector bargaining process is severely limited. Both Sides of the PNB are fortunate to have skilled and experienced negotiators in their leadership but these assets are unable to function without basic financial information. Failure to provide such financial information timeously undermines the bargaining process and this needs to be addressed in future years.

3.4 While very conscious of the continuing disruption to government brought about by Brexit and Covid-19, I must again note here that we still await the commencement of provisions contained in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 that will fully establish the PNB arrangements as part of the Scottish policing and bargaining landscape. This matter still need to be addressed.

3.5 This iteration of the PNB, functioning only on behalf of officers in Scotland, has now been in place for some years. As has been noted in the paragraphs above, some aspects of this ‘borrowed’ structure have adapted and work very well, often driven by the professionalism and enthusiasm of the individuals involved. Elsewhere, the transfer from the UK context remains either incomplete or less than optimal. Over the next period the key organisations involved in the PNB should begin to review the operation of the current structures and be ready to suggest changes to the structure and operation of the PNB to help it to continue to best carry out its statutory function.

3.6 I am again grateful for our link with officials from the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) through the direct involvement of SPPA personnel in meetings of the PNB, which provides very useful information on related matters. Finally, in all this process, I am indebted to our Independent Secretary Ryan Paterson. Ryan continues to consolidate the back office of the PNB and SPCF to produce a sound and effective administrative foundation for our work.

Ian McKay, Independent Chair, Police Negotiating Board Scotland