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Police authority convenor to stand down
18/07/2008
The Convener of the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) Mervyn Rolfe is to stand down from his position at the end of September 2008.
The SPSA delivers a wide range of expert policing and police support services to Scotland's police forces including the SCDEA, police training, information services, ICT and the forensic service. The SPSA took on its full powers on April 1, 2007.
Mr Rolfe was appointed to the post of convener in December 2006.
The role of SPSA Convener is a public appointment and the process to find a successor to Mr Rolfe will begin this summer with the objective of a new appointment being made later this year.
Deputy convener George Kay will stand in as Convener during the transitional period.
Mervyn Rolfe CBE, Convener of SPSA said in his letter to the Justice Secretary:
"For some time I have been considering my employment situation and how I might balance my existing commitments and career aspirations. I have concluded that I would prefer to take on a more full-time and executive position for the remainder of my working career. This would not be consistent with the amount of time that the Convenership of SPSA seems likely to demand in the future.
"Given the regard I have for the organisation, and for the duties and responsibilities that come with any public appointment, I do not feel that I could take on a new executive challenge without adversely impacting on the commitment I could make to SPSA.
"Although the reasons for my decision are essentially personal I feel the timing of it and any disruption to SPSA to be manageable. The organisation is now over 16 months old and has successfully managed the transition of its various core businesses from the forces to a national organisation. A period of consolidation is now underway and the SPSA team is firmly focussed on delivering good performance across these businesses to our partners in the police and wider criminal justice system.
"It has been a privilege and an honour to have been involved along with others in the building of such a groundbreaking and significant element of the Scottish criminal justice system. I believe its success and its innovative approach to driving efficiency and greater effectiveness in common policing services provides an excellent model for others in the public sector."
Commenting on Mr Rolfe's decision, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said:
"The SPSA is playing a vital role in driving and delivering real improvements in the quality and efficiency of police support services for all Scotland's police forces.
"As Convener, Mervyn Rolfe has made a significant contribution to the ongoing work to reform and modernise this aspect of our police service. I want to thank him for his energy and commitment and wish him well in the future as he takes on new challenges.
"I am confident that the SPSA will continue to have the leadership it needs to help Scotland's police forces meet the challenge of policing in the 21st Century and find effective ways to support our front line police officers."
Interim SPSA Convener George Kay said:
"Bringing together such a varied range of police businesses - comprising over 1,600 staff operating to nine different sets of terms and conditions - has been a significant achievement. It is one that Mervyn contributed to through his leadership, his personal commitment, and his unfailing enthusiasm. I hope that he looks back proudly on that legacy.
"The Scottish Government has made clear that the public appointment process to secure a new Convener for SPSA will be a priority. That is a sentiment shared by the SPSA Board. The groundwork for this appointment process will begin over the summer so that a successor is in place as soon as possible after Mervyn's resignation takes effect at the end of September.
"To ensure there is continuity over the inevitable transition period, I have agreed to stand in as interim Convener. As an organisation we will remain firmly focussed on consolidating our performance and in driving forward new innovations across all areas of our business."
The Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) came into being on April 1, 2007 and is responsible for providing a range of support services to Scottish police forces on a national basis as well as maintaining the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA). SPSA brought together the services previously provided by the Scottish Police College, the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO), and the Scottish Police Information Stratregy (SPIS) as well as delivering a new national forensic service.
From April 1, 2008, SPSA also assumed responsibility for providing all police information and communications technology (ICT) systems and equipment to Scottish police forces. It has more than 1,600 staff and a budget of £83.6m in 2008-09 (not including funding for the provision of the new ICT service).
The post of SPSA's Convener is a public appointment and will be made by Scottish Ministers after an open competition supervised by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland (OCPAS).