Minutes of the Leadership Board: 23 July 2026

Meeting held on 23 July 2026 in conference Room 1.

Board members present:

Yvette Greener, Chief Operating Officer (Chair)

Lindsey Miller, Deputy Crown Agent and Legal Director Local Court

Stephen McGowan, Legal Director Litigation

Katrina Parkes, Legal Director High Court 

In attendance:

Rosie Elder, Deputy Director for People (for Sarah Carter)

Frances Ross, National Casework Stabilisation Lead

Stacey Law, Head of Management Accounting and Planning (for Marlene Anderson)

Conor Quinn, Head of Governance

Katie Woods, Head of COO’s Office

Rachele Comrie, Senior Business Partner – Performance

Lindsey McIntosh, Director of Performance and Service Improvement

Jenny Stewart, Director of Transformation and Change 

Rahul Singh, Chief of Staff

Rachel Weir, Director of Policy and Engagement

Thomas Lindie, Head of Business Management National Casework

Jonathan Shebioba, Head of Business Management Local Court

Gavin Anderson, Head of Business Management Deaths Investigations

Secretariat: 

Matthew Beattie, Corporate Governance Manager 

James Wall, Assistant Private Secretary (Secretariat) 

Apologies:

John Logue, Crown Agent and Chief Executive

Sarah Carter, Director for People

Marlene Anderson, Director of Finance, Procurement and Estates

Laura Buchan, Legal Director Deaths Investigations

Keith Dargie, Chief Digital Officer

1.1 The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting and noted apologies received.

1.2 The Chair welcomed Conor Quinn and Fiona Hart to their first Leadership Board meeting.

2.1 The Board reviewed and approved the minutes of the previous meetings.

2.2 The Board reviewed the Action Log, agreed the closure of completed actions and noted the updates provided on remaining actions.

2.3 An update was provided on Copilot use cases for the pathfinder. National Casework and Deaths Investigations had submitted prioritised use cases, and an initial feasibility workshop had been completed. Additional opportunities for Copilot use had been identified and further workshops were planned, including work relating to Death Investigations and Local Court priorities.

2.4 The Chair emphasised the importance of continuing to monitor actions arising from the Extraordinary Leadership Board, including outstanding assurance activity with ISD.

Action: Deputy Crown Agent and Legal Director Local Court to provide priority Local Court Copilot use cases.

3.1 The Director of Performance and Service Improvement presented the Corporate Risk Register, the revised Corporate Risk Management Strategy and the accompanying Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) paper.

3.2 The Board noted that progress had been made in strengthening the organisation's approach to risk management, although further work was required to improve the consistency of scoring, articulation of controls and organisational understanding of risk appetite and tolerance. Members noted that six corporate risks were currently assessed at the highest level.

3.3 The Board discussed the importance of moving beyond risk scoring and focusing on what risks meant in practice, including whether current controls and mitigation activity were having the intended impact and whether additional action was required. Members considered the distinction between high risks and risks that had exceeded organisational tolerance. While several risks remained significant, members agreed that mitigation plans and contingency arrangements were generally in place and that risk tolerances had not yet been exceeded.

3.4 Members discussed the need for greater consistency in risk scoring across directorates, clearer completion dates for mitigation actions and stronger links between risk information, performance reporting and organisational decision-making. The Board welcomed the appointment of the new Corporate Risk Manager and noted that further work would take place with management teams to strengthen risk identification, monitoring and escalation arrangements.

3.5 The Board considered whether stabilisation risks should be subject to a deep-dive review by ARC. Members recognised the value of independent scrutiny and objective challenge and agreed that any future deep dive should consider stabilisation activity collectively across National Casework, Local Court and Death Investigations rather than focusing on a single function.

3.6 Members also discussed whether current corporate risks appropriately reflected pressures arising from policy development activity and support provided to Scottish Government policy teams. It was agreed that further refinement of risk assessments would continue as the overall framework matured.

Action: Director of Performance and Service Improvement to work with relevant business areas to prepare a stabilisation risk deep-dive for consideration at the August Audit and Risk Committee meeting.

Decision: Leadership Board noted the Corporate Risk Register and approved the revised Corporate Risk Management Strategy.

4.1 The Head of Management Accounting and Planning presented the Quarter 1 financial position. The Board noted the forecast overspend against budget, driven primarily by staffing pressures and current recruitment assumptions. Members also noted that forecast pressures had reduced since the previous reporting period through vacancy prioritisation, revised recruitment assumptions, additional funding and projected non-staff underspends.

4.2 The Deputy Crown Agent and Legal Director Local Court highlighted significant workforce pressures arising from staff absences across operational areas. Members recognised that workforce resilience remained limited in several business areas and discussed the importance of ensuring workforce planning and budget assumptions properly reflected sickness absence, parental leave, learning and development commitments and other factors affecting available capacity. The Board agreed that developing more realistic workforce planning assumptions would be essential to improving organisational resilience and supporting future financial planning.

4.3 The Director of Performance and Service Improvement presented the corporate performance report and updated the Board on work with ISD to improve Power BI reporting capability. The Board welcomed improvements in Deaths Investigations performance and noted progress in the allocation of RTFIU bail cases. While Local Court performance remained stable despite increasing operational pressures and ongoing transformation activity, National Casework continued to experience significant pressures due to indictment volumes and associated time-bar risks. Members also noted the continuing increase in the NICP backlog. The Chair raised concerns that the AWDL performance was consistently off target and whilst recognising the pressures our people were under, there is a need to ensure that attendance is being managed.

4.4 The Board discussed the factors contributing to the increase in the NICP backlog, including additional requirements arising from implementation of the Prosecutorial Code, audit and recording requirements, increased consideration of body-worn video evidence, UNCRC obligations and wider workforce capacity pressures. Members recognised that these developments strengthened quality and assurance arrangements but had increased the time required to process cases. The Legal Director Litigation advised that a review process was underway and would report in August, potentially identifying opportunities to improve efficiency whilst maintaining appropriate quality standards.

4.5 The Head of Business Management, Death Investigations, provided an update on the COVID Deaths Investigation Team and advised that revised delivery assumptions had been developed following resource reductions associated with wider organisational stabilisation activity. Members noted that the report did not show up to date performance data and current forecasts indicated completion of the relevant KPI by March 2027 which was unlikely. It was agreed that revised modelling and possibly a revised milestone framework and KPI timetable should be presented to a future meeting for approval.

Action: Director of People to provide Leadership Board with a detailed analysis of sickness absence trends and management arrangements to inform a Deep Dive on this area.

Action: Head of Business Management, Death Investigations, to present a paper to the next meeting on CDIT modelling and if necessary, approval for revised milestones and KPI targets through to March 2027.

5.1 The Head of Management Accounting and Planning presented the Medium-Term Financial Plan covering the period to 2028-29.

5.2 The Board noted that based on current Scottish Government indicative funding allocations, COPFS faced significant real-terms funding reductions over the planning period.

5.3 Members discussed the assumptions underpinning the model, including projected pay awards, workforce costs and future financial risks. The Board recognised that substantial efficiencies, transformation activity and further engagement with Scottish Government would be required to deliver a sustainable financial position.

5.4 Members also discussed opportunities arising from estate rationalisation, technology investment and organisational change activity.

Action: Director of Finance to confirm arrangements for presentation of the Medium-Term Financial Plan to the Audit and Risk Committee.

Decision: Medium-Term Financial Plan approved as a planning tool for COPFS.

6.1 The Head of Management Accounting and Planning provided a verbal update on progress with the Annual Report and Accounts.

6.2 The Board noted that audit fieldwork was substantially complete, no new Audit Scotland recommendations were anticipated, and previous audit recommendations were expected to be closed.

6.3 Members welcomed the positive position and noted ongoing discussions regarding a technical accounting matter.

7.1 The Board received an update on progress with the National Casework Stabilisation Programme.

7.2 Members noted that National Casework had continued to implement a range of interventions, including workforce deployment, process improvements, caseload review activity, enhanced performance management and the development of artificial intelligence-enabled solutions through the Copilot Pathfinder programme. It was noted that many interventions remained in the early stages of implementation and therefore their full impact had not yet been realised.

7.3 Members reviewed productivity assumptions underpinning the stabilisation programme and discussed the potential benefits and risks associated with Copilot implementation. The Board noted that initial testing had identified potentially significant efficiencies for certain administrative activities, although implementation remained subject to ongoing information assurance requirements, further testing and workforce familiarisation.

7.4 Members recognised that additional time would be required for staff to build confidence and capability in using new tools and processes.

7.5 The Board considered proposed contingency arrangements should stabilisation activity fail to deliver the required increase in reporting volumes. Members discussed both the movement of work between business areas and the potential movement of staff, noting the operational implications of either approach.

7.6 Concerns were raised regarding the impact on Local Court and Death Investigations, where existing workload and capacity pressures remained significant. Members highlighted the importance of ensuring any contingency arrangements were fully assessed and deliverable before implementation.

7.7 Members sought assurance regarding the benefits realised from staff previously deployed into National Casework and discussed the time required for new staff to become fully productive. It was noted that overall reporting volumes had increased, although average productivity per case preparer had reduced temporarily due to onboarding, mentoring and training requirements associated with new staff joining the function.

7.8 Members noted that it was anticipated that greater productivity benefits would become evident over the coming months as staff gained experience and confidence.

7.9 The Board recognised the importance of contingency planning but agreed that any future decision requiring significant organisational resource movement would require a comprehensive assessment of operational, service, workforce and reputational impacts across COPFS.

7.10 Members agreed that planning activity should continue in collaboration with affected business areas and wider stakeholders including the judiciary and that further evidence regarding stabilisation progress, productivity improvements and Copilot implementation should be considered before any implementation decision was taken. A further move of staff to NC was highly unlikely.

Action: National Casework leads to continue contingency planning and options development in collaboration with relevant functions and business areas and return to Leadership Board with an updated assessment of progress, risks, productivity measures and options for further consideration.

Decision: Leadership Board noted progress and agreed that further evidence was required before approving implementation of contingency arrangements.

Agenda Item 8: Trauma-Informed Practice

8.1 The Board considered proposals relating to the implementation of a digital customer insight and feedback solution as part of the Trauma-Informed Practice Programme.

8.2 Members recognised the importance of establishing a more consistent and structured approach to gathering feedback from service users. The Board agreed that improved customer insight would support service improvement, organisational learning, performance reporting and future decision-making.

8.3 The Board supported the recommended option to proceed with the proposed feedback solution and associated costs, subject to confirmation of funding arrangements and implementation planning.

8.4 Members noted the importance of ensuring that implementation was aligned with the wider Trauma-Informed Practice Programme, the development of the Performance and Service Improvement function, the role of the new Head of Customer Care and the wider Transformation and Change portfolio.

Decision: Leadership Board supported the recommended option to proceed with the proposed digital feedback solution, subject to confirmation of funding and implementation arrangements.

10.1 There was no other business, the Chair thanked members for their attendance and closed the meeting.