Our business

Attendees
Amanda Black         Principal Solicitor (AB)
Ilya Zharov              Head of Reviews & Policy (IZ)
Jennifer Fisher        Executive Assistant (Minutes) (JLF)
Laura Duguid          Finance Manager (LD)
Laura Paton            Commissioner (LP)
Lynsay Cooper        Communications Officer (LC)
Raymond Brown      Head of Investigations (RB)
Sharon Smit            Head of Corporate Service & Accountable Officer (SS)
Steven Ross            Information Coordinator (SR) (agenda item 9 only)

Welcome and Apologies

LP opened the meeting and welcomed all attendees to the Senior Leadership Team meeting.

Apologies

Apologies were noted from Phil Chapman, Director of Operations, Sharon Clelland, Head of Legal Services and Irina Wilkie, Head of Communications. 

SLT agreed to consider agenda items 9 - 16 in private, for the reasons set out on the agenda.

Amended SLT Terms of Reference (ToR)

LP advised that, in addition to the amended ToR previously circulated, one further amendment had been identified at short notice.

Membership revised to state: “Membership of the SLT comprises the Commissioner, Director of Operations, Head of Corporate Services (Accountable Officer), Head of Investigations, Head of Legal Services, and Head of Reviews and Policy, supported by the Finance Manager, Head of Communications, and Executive Assistant (secretariat).”

Commitment to Inclusive Practices added: “Promoting inclusive practices across all areas of the organisation, ensuring that policies, procedures and decision making processes actively support equality, diversity and inclusion. This includes fostering a workplace culture that values and respects individual differences, removing barriers to participation, and ensuring fulfilment of statutory duties, including those under the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998.”

Members considered and approved the amended ToR.

Minutes and Action Log from previous meeting

SLT approved the minutes of the October 2025 meeting.

As there were no current actions outstanding, the action log was not reviewed or updated. 

Commissioner’s Update Report 

In addition to the report circulated in advance, LP provided the following update. 

2025 Fatal Accident Inquiry Review – Sheriff Principal Abercrombie
LP and SC met with Sheriff Principal Abercrombie and members of the FAI Review team on 12 November 2025. The meeting was constructive, with Sheriff Principal Abercrombie and the team expressing interest in further understanding PIRC’s role in death investigations and identifying areas of learning. To support the review team’s understanding, a number of PIRC policies and guidance documents were shared, including PIRC’s Family Liaison Policy.

LP advised that the Review’s final report is expected to be submitted to Ministers in December 2025, with publication thereafter 

Criminal Justice Committee (CJC)
LP advised that she had contacted the Clerk of the CJC to request an opportunity to attend to provide evidence to members to outline current workload demands and financial challenges facing PIRC.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMICS) 
LP advised that she and PC had met with Craig Naylor, HMICS, to discuss a number of matters, including the HMICS thematic inspection relating to Conduct.  LP further advised that the report is expected to be published in early 2026.

Independent Police Complaints Authorities’ Network (IPCAN) 
LP advised that she has been invited to speak at the IPCAN seminar to be held in Paris, France, on 4 and 5 December 2025. 

Meeting with Crown Agent
LP advised that she had met with the Crown Agent the previous day and discussed a range of matters, including the current workload demands and financial challenges facing PIRC. 

Advisory Board Recruitment
LP advised that the recruitment advert for the PIRC Advisory Board Chairperson position was now live. 

Members noted the updates provided.          

Communications Update
LC provided an overview of the Communications Update report (circulated in advance), highlighting the following:

Advisory Board Chairperson and Members recruitment
Comms team continue to support SG colleagues in progressing the recruitment of the Advisory Board Chairperson and members, noting that SG recruitment content will be shared via PIRC channels when available.

2024/25 PIRC Annual Report
Work on the Annual Report is advancing, with a final internal review of amendments scheduled to take place ahead of the report being sent to designers to progress.

Service Standards (previously Unacceptable Actions policy)
LC met with IZ and SRO McGruer to review and progress actions and amendments identified following SLT review. 

HR Portal
LC confirmed that final testing is due to be undertaken. LC further advised that HR colleagues will circulate content regarding application form wording to SLT members for review ahead of portal ‘go live’ (date TBC). 

Members noted the updates provided. 

Training Update Report

The training update report was taken as read and accepted without further discussion. 

Finance - Management Accounts to end October 2025

LD provided an overview of the Management Accounts to end October (circulated in advance), highlighting the following:

Full year forecast column added to the report highlighting any over/underspends: Year to date (YTD) £55k underspend identified. The full year position will be communicated to SG in the November 2025 forecast. 

PIRC and SG continue to propose/discuss options for re-purposing any budget underspends.

Grant in Aid (GIA):  cash drawn down in relation to spend was £34k over the original budget for October 2025: due mainly to IT costs being invoiced in October 2025 but budgeted in previous month. 

Vacancy Efficiency: Negative budget line set to reflect vacancy savings and support overall budget balancing for the 2025/2026 fiscal year.

Staff Costs: underspend of approximately £144k. This phased underspend has been forecast across the year to accommodate the cost-of-living increase pay award due to be paid in the December 2025 payroll.  This will result in December 2025 staff costs being £166k over budget/£23k over spent YTD. 

Accommodation Costs: overspend of approximately £43k YTD due to an increase in monthly maintenance costs of approx..£1,800 per month (Air-conditioning works, keypad entry installation). October 2025 repairs in relation to replacing the security cage (£4k) and various light replacements (£1k). 

iExpenses
LD advised that she had met with SG colleagues regarding PIRC’s transition to ‘i-Expenses’ (Oracle Cloud). User testing is ongoing with staff from Investigations (principal claimants). Implementation of the i-Expense system is targeted for January 2026. 

Oracle Upgrade – Quarterly update due in November 2025
LD advised members that Oracle Cloud applies quarterly updates to the platform, enabling the implementation of enhancements, fixes to address software issues and improvements to user experience. 

Members noted the updates provided.

Policy Documents

Recruitment and  Selection Policy
SS provided an overview of the amendments made to the Recruitment & Selection Policy (circulated in advance). 

LP requested that the policy document be sent to her so she could track some minor comments.  

AB requested an extension to enable Head of Legal Services to review and provide feedback following her return from leave. 

SS confirmed that the deadline for feedback / comments would be extended to 25 November 2025. 

Members did not approve the policy at this time. It was agreed that the policy will be re-circulated to members for approval via correspondence at a later date. 

Menopause Policy 
SS provided an overview of the Menopause Policy (circulated in advance). 

LP requested that further review of terminology used throughout the policy, specifically references to “assigned at birth” and “menopause like symptoms”, be undertaken. 

Members did no approve the policy at this time. It was agreed that the policy will be re-circulated to members for approval via correspondence at a later date. 

Any other business 

Nil of note.