PABS (07)(03)

FOR INFORMATION

POLICE ADVISORY BOARD FOR SCOTLAND

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

PAPER BY POLICE POWERS, PERFORMANCE & RESOURCES

Purpose

1.This paper provides an update to the Board on the changes to the structure of the Scottish Government.

Background

2.Since the election, significant changes have been introduced to the Government structure in Scotland. Departments no longer exist: instead we have 5 Directorates-General and below that a number of Directorates dealing with specific areas of policy delivery. Insofar as the police service in Scotland is concerned, the key point of contact is through the Police and Community Safety Directorate, headed up by Bridget Campbell. Following on from these high level changes, a number of changes have been made to what were the former 2 police divisions. The Annexes attached to this paper outline these key changes. These are as follows:

Annex AOverview;

Annex BMinisterial Responsibilities;

Annex CDirector General, Justice and Communities;

Annex DPolice Powers, Performance and Resources – Structure and Responsibilities;

Annex EPolice Organised Crime and and Support Services- Structure and Responsibilities; and

Annex FFire and Civil Contingencies – Structure and Responsibilities.

Conclusion

3.Members are invited to note these recent structural changes.

PABS Secretariat

September 2007

Annex A

OVERVIEW

New Ministers

  1. Kenny MacAskillMSPis Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Fergus EwingMSP is Minister for Community Safety. The specific issues on which they intend to take lead responsibility within the Justice portfolio are listed at Annex B.

Changes to management structures

  1. Changes to the management structure have been put in placewhich are intended to align management systems and structures more closely with the Government’s objectives.
  1. The Strategic Board - the civil service 'top table' for the organisation - now consists of the Permanent Secretary and five DirectorsGeneral (DGs). DGs will focus on the performance of the whole organisation against the Cabinet's agenda. The role of DGs replaces the role of Heads of Department and Departments have been abolished.
  1. RobertGordonisDirector General, Justice and Communities, with special responsibility to the Cabinet for achieving the objective “to help local communities to flourish, becoming stronger, safer places to live, offering improved opportunities and a better quality of life.” - one of the five overarching objectives which will guide the actions of this Government.
  1. Like other Directors General (DGs), Robert reports to the Permanent Secretary. DGs will work across Ministerial portfolios, driving progress towards the Government’s strategic policy objectives; and provide top-level leadership of change in the organisation. They will each line manage several Directors (formerly known as Heads of Group), for administrative purposes, but will draw Directorates into their strategic policy work as required. The main parts of Robert’s job are listed at Annex C.
  1. Directorates - formerly referred to as Groups - are the building blocks of the new set-up. Directors will be the key advisers to Ministers and will have a leading role in presenting and delivering policy.
  1. This new structure is intended to ensure that the Government exploits the links between different areas of the organisation and develops more joined-up policies. It should also make it easier for people to see the Scottish Government as a single, coherent unit, rather than a group of departments with separate identities.

Changes to Police and Community Safety Directorate (formerly Group)

  1. There are 5 divisions within Police and Community Safety Directorate. These are headed by Alastair Merrill, Christie Smith, Alan Johnston, Ian Walford and James Sheffield. Changes have been made to divisional structures in order to align ourselves even more closely with Ministerial priorities. This has involved some changes in the way we group our work and some name changes.
  1. The division underAlastair Merrill has been renamed Police: Powers, Performance and Resources. This includes a new Performance, Efficiency and Funding Branch, headed by Stephen Woodhouse, which will cover the development of the Scottish Policing Performance Framework, best value and efficiency in the use of police resources, and the management of the various police funding streams. We are creating a new branch to provide a central coordinating function for management and policy issues relating to sex offenders; and we have realigned Donnie Jack’s branch to focus on workforce management and governance issues, including coordinating the delivery of capacity equivalent to 1000 additional officers. An organisation chart is at Annex D.
  1. Christie Smith’s division has been re-named Police: Organised Crime and Support Services. Within that we have created a new Organised Crime Unit which brings together responsibility for national security policing, Proceeds of Crime legislation and interception of communications, with responsibility for the SCDEA, the Serious Crime Taskforce and the Gartcosh project. We are bringing together responsibility for capacity and capability, with responsibility for the SPSA. We are realigning Liz Sadler’s team to focus on national business development, and ICT associated with that, to mirror the development of the ACPOS Business Change Board and its National Change Programme. And we are creating a Forensic Services Policy team under Paul Allen to focus on DNA, fingerprints and related issues. An organisation chart is at Annex E.
  1. The Violence Reduction Team under Richard Foggo, as well as responsibility for anti-sectarianism, has moved into Safer Communities Division, which is led by Alan Johnston.
  1. Ian Walford’s Fire and Civil Contingencies Division has been re-organised to give more capacity to pursue key priorities. An organisation chart is at Annex F.
  1. The Analytical Services Division headed by Professor James Sheffield remains the same as before.

Annex B

MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Mr MacAskill, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, has overall responsibility for the whole range of portfolio business, and leads on:

  • Criminal law and procedure;
  • Criminal justice social work and system reform
  • Police strategy;
  • Prisons and sentencing policy;
  • Legal aid and legal profession;
  • Judicial modernisation, judicial appointments and reform;
  • Civil contingencies;
  • Human rights;
  • Liquor licensing;
  • Vulnerable witnesses and victim support; and
  • Life sentence prisoner casework.

Mr Ewing, Minster for Community Safety, leads on:

  • Community safety (including anti-social behaviour review);
  • Drugs policy and related matters;
  • Youth justice;
  • Violence;
  • Sectarianism;
  • Civil courts review and other aspects of civil law;
  • Charity law;
  • Fire and rescue services;
  • Religious and faith organisations;
  • Arbitration policy and legislation;
  • Bankruptcy policy and Accountant in Bankruptcy (agency);
  • Law reform notably Law Commission report implementation;
  • Lead on Parliamentary handling of legislation; and
  • Liaison with Parliamentary committees.

Annex C

DIRECTOR GENERAL, JUSTICE AND COMMUNITIES RESPONSIBILITIES

The main elements of Robert Gordon’s new role as Director General, Justice and Communities are:

  • Ensuring progress on the “safer and stronger” objective. Robert will work across the Executive, to help ensure that all policy domains are contributing to achieving Ministers’ ambitions for a safer and stronger Scotland;
  • Second, Robert will be responsible for ensuring a good and proper service for the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, the Minister for Community Safety and the Minister for Parliament, the Law Officers and their Ministerial colleagues. That will of course, involve engagement with Ministers but Directors will lead on the policy in their domain and be the main point of senior official contact with individual Ministers;
  • Third, Robert will be responsible for oversight of the effective and efficient running of the business in administrative, HR and other terms for a number of Directorates. This will again mean working closely with the Directors as a senior management team and ensuring that we make the most of opportunities for staff development in a coherent way.
  • Fourth, Robert will share with other DGs the strategic management of the organisation through membership of the Strategic Board. He will have some specific responsibilities within that, for example, as Chair of the People and Business Innovation Group.

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PABS (07)(03)

Annex D

Annex E

Annex F

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