Ex-minister is new police quango boss
… and she’ll land a 20pc pay increase on day one
A FORMER Labour health minister has been hired as boss of Scotland’s beleaguered police watchdog – earning nearly 20 per cent more than her predecessor.
Professor Susan Deacon will be paid more than £76,000 a year to be chairman of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).
Present chairman Andrew Flanagan, a former TV executive, said he would quit in June amid allegations he was a bully who ran the watchdog – one of the country’s most controversial quangos – like the Kremlin.
Professor Deacon, the first Scottish health minister after devolution, was consigned to the backbenches after Jack McConnell became First Minister in 2001. The former Labour MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh quit Holyrood in 2006 and is now assistant principal in charge of external relations at Edinburgh University.
Other posts she holds include chairmanships of the Institute of Directors in Scotland and the Edinburgh Festivals Forum, and she is a non-executive director of Lothian Buses.
The 53-year-old mother of two, who has been awarded a CBE for services to business, education and public service, will earn £530 a day for working 12 days a month – up from Mr Flanagan’s rate of £450 a day, a rise of 18 per cent.
The terms of Mr Flanagan’s contract meant that he worked ‘up to ten days per month’.
Commenting on the increased pay, a Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The SPA has responsibility for over £1billion of public funding and oversees a service with more than 22,000 officers and staff. The pay rate was reviewed to be comparable with other high-profile public bodies such as Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Futures Trust.’
In research published this week, the SPA was condemned as a ‘waste of time’ by its own members, who raised concerns about Scottish Government meddling.
Mr Flanagan became SPA chairman in September 2015 after predecessor Vic Emery, ex-head of Edinburgh’s calamitous trams project, was forced out by an internal revolt.
Mr Flanagan quit after MSPs attacked his ‘unacceptable’ behaviour. Holyrood’s public audit committee raised ‘very serious concerns’ about his conduct. Mr Flanagan said in June it was in the ‘best interests of policing’ that he step down, but he continued as chairman until a successor was found.
Commenting on Professor Deacon’s appointment, Scottish Labour justice spokesman Claire Baker said: ‘This must be the start of the SPA regaining the public’s confidence following a series of blunders and controversies.’
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said of Professor Deacon: ‘She will bring a fresh perspective to the governance of Scottish policing.’
Professor Deacon, whose contract runs for four years, starting on December 4, said: ‘The issues facing the SPA have been well documented and there is much to be learned from what has gone before, but my focus now is on the future.
‘The SPA has a critical role in overseeing Police Scotland and ensuring our police service develops and adapts to meet the needs of a changing world. Building trust, confidence and relationships is key and will be a focus of my efforts from the outset.’
‘Regaining public confidence’