Minutes: 11 March 2026

1. Decision on taking business in private:

The Committee agreed to take agenda items 3, 4 and 5 in private.

2. Best Value in policing: Joint Best Value audit of policing in Scotland:

The Committee took evidence from—

Chief Constable Jo Farrell KPM and Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs, Professionalism and Enabling Services, Police Scotland;

Neil Rennick, Director-General Education and Justice and Don McGillivray, Director of Safer Communities, Scottish Government;

Chris Brown, Chief Executive and Accountable Officer and Alasdair Hay, Vice Chair, Scottish Police Authority.

Richard Leonard declared an interest as convener of the PFA Scotland Parliamentary Interest Group in relation to questions on policing of football matches.

3. Best Value in policing: Joint Best Value audit of policing in Scotland (In Private):

The Committee considered the evidence heard at agenda item 2 and took further evidence from—

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland;

Fiona Mitchell-Knight, Audit Director, Audit Scotland;

     Brian McInulty QPM, Assistant Inspector and John Paterson, Lead Inspector, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland

4. Best Value in policing: Joint Best Value audit of policing in Scotland (In Private):

The Committee considered the evidence heard at agenda items 2 and 3 and agreed to include their work in its legacy report.

5. Work programme (In Private):

The Committee considered its work programme and agreed to close scrutiny of the following reports:

Early learning and childcare: Progress on delivering the 1,140 hours expansion; Replacement EU funds: Future audit and accountability arrangements; The 2021/22 audit of South Lanarkshire College; The 2024/25 audit of NHS Ayrshire and Arran; The 2024/25 audit of NHS Grampian.

The Committee also agreed to close scrutiny of the following reports and include them in its legacy report:

Financial sustainability and taxes; Investing in Scotland's infrastructure; The 2021/22 audit of Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (Holdings) Limited and the 2023/24 audit of Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (Holdings) Limited.