Minutes of the Leadership Board: 19 February 2026

Meeting held on 19^th February 2026 at Conference Room 1, Crown Office and via Microsoft Teams.

Board members present:

Yvette Greener, Chief Operating Officer (Chair)

John Logue, Crown Agent and Chief Executive 

Lindsey Miller, Deputy Crown Agent and Legal Director Local Court

Stephen McGowan, Legal Director Litigation

Katrina Parkes, Legal Director National Casework 

Marlene Anderson, Director of Finance and Procurement

Lindsey McIntosh, Director of Performance and Service Improvement

Jenny Stewart, Director of Transformation and Change 

Jonathan Shebioba, Head of Business Management Local Court

Gavin Anderson, Head of Business Management Death Investigations

Rachel Weir, Director of Policy

Keith Dargie, Chief Digital Officer

Rahul Singh, Chief of Staff

In attendance:

Katie Woods, Head of Chief Operating Officer Office

Robert Harvey, Deputy HR Director

Secretariat: 

Matthew Beattie, Corporate Governance Manager 

Christopher Hastings, Corporate Governance and Briefing Coordinator (Secretariat) 

Apologies:

Laura Buchan, Legal Director Deaths Investigations

Sarah Carter, Director of People 

Thomas Lindie, Head of Business Management, National Casework

Jim Brisbane, Director of Strategy 

Frances Ross, Head of Corporate Governance 

The Chair opened the meeting and noted apologies from those unable to attend.

The Chair introduced Paper LB0226 (2.1) (LB220126 Draft). The minutes of the January meeting were reviewed and approved.

Paper LB0226 (2.2) (Leadership Board Action Tracker) was presented. There are five actions that were open going into this meeting. Two will remain ongoing, Action 15 requires a wording amendment, and Action 13 will be updated in April by the Head of Business Management – Deaths Investigations. While the other three, Actions 19, 20, and 21 have been resolved and will be closed. 

Action: Head of Business Management – Deaths Investigations to provide an update on Action 13 (ICO Audit) at the April meeting.

The Chair introduced Paper LB0226 (3.1) (Leadership Board Performance Dashboard – February 2026). The Director of Finance and Procurement reported a forecast underspend for the 2025/26 budget, noting potential risk arising from unused annual leave. The Chair raised a reputational concern that this had swung markedly in the last quarter and as an organization we needed to be better in our forecasting and workforce planning.

For the 2026/27 budget, commitments aligned with the Scottish Government settlement were highlighted. Budget holders have been  consulted for approval of allocations. A functional breakdown is provided in Paper LB0226 (3.2) (Annex 1 2026-27 Budget Bill Allocation Detail by Account Code).

The Corporate Governance Manager provided an update on the performance dashboard and indicated 16 KPIs on track, 14 off track, and 1 at risk. KPIs will be reviewed for future target setting. 

The Chair noted that the transformation paper presented and agreed in July has not yet resulted in change and invited discussion on progressing this work as it was key to delivering the change the organisation needed in 26/27 to be ready for 27/28. Discussion focused on proposals to stand down functional transformation and HR teams, specifically:

• SCG Central Operations
• Local Court Transformation Team
• Local Court People and Development Team
• Local Court Delivery and Performance Team. 

It will also be vital to identify any of members of staff within the legal functions who are carrying out work which should be completed within Corporate Services, and transfer or recruit relevant staff into the Corporate Services directorates as necessary. Not all would need to move.

While there was agreement in principle that this direction was appropriate, functions raised significant concerns, including the impact on recruitment, training and onboarding support currently provided by some local teams, potential future casework implications, and the absence of the published Organisational Design review. 

The Board agreed that the proposals were not sufficiently developed and that it would be premature to approve them at this stage. No decision was taken, and a future workshop was suggested to scope and plan the approach in more detail. The Chair accepted this. 

ACTION: Approval of Budget Allocation for 26/27 from Legal Directors and Heads of Business Management to the Director of Finance and Procurement by the 27th February 2026 

The Chair and Director of Performance and Service Improvement provided an update following discussions at ARC. The Risk Strategy will undergo annual review, with work to be undertaken with functions on both the Corporate risk register and their own directorate risk registers . A formal paper will be submitted to the joint Strategic and Leadership Board in March after seeking feedback from the Leadership Board.

ACTION: Leadership Board to provide feedback for the Risk Management Approach Paper to the Director of Performance and Service Improvement by 25th  February 2026 

The Director of Finance and Procurement presented paper LB0226 (5.1) (COPFS Estates Strategy 2026-2030). Expected costs for 2026–2030 and plans to realign offices as private leases end were outlined. They also requested feedback from the Board on the paper. The Board discussed the paper and agreed to the request while emphasizing the importance of clear staff communication regarding the paper’s content. The Chair advised we had to be clear this was about moving buildings and not leaving locations at this stage. It Is key to our wider efficiency plans as without this the impact would be on staffing numbers.

ACTION: Leadership Board to provide feedback on the Estates Strategy to the Director of Finance and Procurement by 6th March 2026 

The Director of Transformation and Change presented Paper LB0226 (6.1) (Business Partnering), outlining plans for strengthened collaboration between Corporate Services and functions through adopting a Business Partnering approach. The Board supported the approach.

The Chief Digital Officer presented Paper LB0226 (7.1) (Leadership Board_COPFS Digital Strategy_Feb 2026 Draft Version). The latest draft incorporates feedback received to date, revised content, visual aids, and new material covering Justice Partners and digital challenges. The Board endorsed continued development and agreed to provide feedback by email.

A suggestion was raised to introduce greater consistency across organisational strategies through the use of templates, noting differences between the estates and digital strategies; while the Chair did not support a universal template, there was agreement on the importance of making strategies more engaging and accessible.

ACTION: Leadership Board to provide feedback on the latest iteration of the Digital Strategy to the Chief Digital Officer by 27 February 2026. 

The Deputy HR Director presented paper LB0226 (8.1) (New Anti-Harassment & Anti Bullying Policy). The updated framework strengthens preventative measures and ensures compliance with legal duties in relation to the policy. The Board approved the policy and associated e-learning.

Communications on the policy will be shared with the Leadership Board and it was suggested that the policy is added to the agenda of the March Senior Leadership Team meeting.

DECISION: The Board Approved the new Anti-Harassment and Anti-Bullying Policy.

The Chair introduced Paper LB0226 (9.1) (February ARC Meeting Papers). ARC highlighted the need for realistic timescales and progress on audit tracker items. The Board was satisfied with the update.

Paper LB0226 (10.1) (Leadership Board Decision Log) was reviewed. No updates were required.

Paper LB0226 (11.1) (Leadership Board Closed Action Log) was reviewed. No updates were required.

The Chair asked if there was any other business for the Leadership Board.

The Chair asked that papers are submitted five days in advance of meetings from now on.

The Legal Director, National Casework, advised that a paper has been shared by email with feedback requested by 27 February.

The Chair requested a draft agenda for the joint Leadership and Strategic Board meeting by 27 February along with a forward look for future meetings. The Governance Team agreed to provide this.

ACTION: Governance Team to share Draft Agenda of Joint meeting with COO and CACE by 27^th February 2026 

ACTION: Leadership Board to provide feedback on National Casework Resource Allocation Impact to the Legal Director of National Casework by 27^th February 2026