Committee
Public Audit Committee 11 March 2026 [Draft]
11 Mar 2026 · S6 · Public Audit Committee
Item of business
“Best Value in policing: Joint Best Value audit of policing in Scotland”
Thank you very much for answering our questions on that incident. That is not why you are here, but it is of extreme public interest, so we wanted to cover some of that ground.If I may, I will take you back to the report on best value in policing and a matter that is perhaps fairly dry but really important. At our meeting on 11 February, Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, said:“What we are talking about here is public service reform and transformation.”—Official Report, Public Audit Committee 11 February 2023; c 19.I am old enough to remember that, 10 years ago, a rather costly decision had to be taken to abandon the i6 Accenture digital information technology programme, which was supposed to save £200 million. I bring that up because IT systems and digital transformation have quite a chequered history. Director general, can you bring the committee up to date with where things are and give us some assurance that things are on track with the investments in digital support to help the chief constable and her officers to carry out their work?
In the same item of business
09:30
The Convener
Lab
The substantive agenda item this morning is further consideration of the report “Best Value in policing: Joint Best Value audit of policing in Scotland”, whi...
Neil Rennick (Scottish Government)
Thank you, convener. I will be brief. I am grateful to Audit Scotland and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for the report.The report is a positive ...
Alasdair Hay (Scottish Police Authority)
Thank you for the opportunity to give evidence. I have been a member of the Scottish Police Authority since 2021. I am the vice-chair of the authority and th...
The Convener
Lab
Over to you, chief constable.
Chief Constable Jo Farrell KPM (Police Scotland)
Good morning. The principles of best value resonate powerfully with me. I believe deeply in the value that policing provides to the public and to the public ...
The Convener
Lab
Thank you. I ask each of you in turn to say whether you accept the findings and recommendations of the best value report. Mr Hay, you said in your opening re...
Alasdair Hay
The authority accepts the findings and recommendations in full. We have already made progress on putting in place an action plan to respond to them, which wi...
The Convener
Lab
Mr Rennick, does the Scottish Government accept the findings and recommendations of this report?
Neil Rennick
Yes, we do. We are committed to working with Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority in taking forward the full range of recommendations.
The Convener
Lab
Chief constable, over to you.
Chief Constable Farrell
Yes, we do. We have already begun the work to address the issues that are raised in the audit.
The Convener
Lab
Before we get into the detail of the report, we want to speak about some more contemporaneous issues, as you are in front of a parliamentary committee. I sho...
Chief Constable Farrell
Within all our operational duties and commitments, obligations around human rights feature in planning, preparation and the deployment of resources, both to ...
The Convener
Lab
We heard in your opening statement, chief constable, about changes in the nature of crime and how you have to gear up accordingly. However, what was witnesse...
Chief Constable Farrell
The events of Sunday afternoon were absolutely disgraceful. I condemn the people involved in violence. Fans, families, friends, people working at the clubs a...
The Convener
Lab
You pointed out the silence from the two clubs that were involved in that match. Do you think that the football authorities in Scotland are doing enough to h...
Chief Constable Farrell
There are high-risk football matches across the United Kingdom. When I worked in north-east England, I worked at Newcastle v Sunderland and Sunderland v Newc...
The Convener
Lab
Thank you. Graham Simpson has a question or two in this area, so I will bring him in at this juncture.
Graham Simpson (Central Scotland) (Reform)
Reform
Thanks, convener. I also used to live in the north-east of England and I have attended Newcastle v Sunderland matches. I have also attended many old firm gam...
Chief Constable Farrell
I have not spoken to either club. As of Monday evening, the clubs had not said anything in relation to the events of Sunday afternoon. They might have done s...
Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs (Police Scotland)
There will be engagement with the commanders for the football. We have policed football matches in Scotland for many, many years, and there are two elements ...
Graham Simpson
Reform
Were people assaulted outside the ground both before and after the game, or was it just before the game?
Deputy Chief Constable Speirs
There was a dreadful, serious assault outside the stadium involving spectators who were attending the match. Fortunately, some of our technology captured tha...
Graham Simpson
Reform
One of the videos that has been widely seen was of supporters charging into the ground through a disabled access point, barging stewards out of the way. I ho...
Deputy Chief Constable Speirs
The stewarding of the match and spectator access to the match are stewarding matters. Looking at the circumstances, the turnstiles were rushed and a large pr...
Graham Simpson
Reform
In that case, it did not look as though there were turnstiles. It must have been a door that was open or a gate.
Chief Constable Farrell
I think it was a fire door—I think.
Graham Simpson
Reform
Okay. I turn to the events following the penalty shoot-out, when both sets of fans were on the pitch. I was not there; I was watching it on the telly, and it...
Chief Constable Farrell
That would seem to be an obvious action that needs to be considered and taken by the clubs. It is about how they ensure the safety of their broader fan base ...