According to the instrument published on legislation.gov.uk, the Scottish Government has made a second commencement regulation under the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025. Its purpose is narrow but important: section 10 of the 2025 Act is brought into force on 26 November 2026, moving the next stage of Scotland’s police conduct reform into operation for senior-officer cases. (tsoshop.co.uk)
Section 10 changes who decides different kinds of senior-officer case. The 2025 Act amends the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 so that the Scottish Police Authority determines cases about a senior officer’s standard of performance, while cases about a senior officer’s standard of behaviour, or that of a former senior officer, are to be determined by a panel independent of the Authority. The Act’s explanatory notes state that the conduct panel is intended to include both police and non-police members. (legislation.gov.uk)
The same section also widens appeal rights. The statutory text inserts section 56(1A) into the 2012 Act, allowing a senior officer to appeal to a police appeals tribunal against a decision to take 'any other action' in relevant conduct proceedings. A linked amendment to section 58 replaces the narrower dismissal-or-demotion wording with broader language about action against the officer, so the tribunal’s powers match the expanded appeal route. (parliament.scot)
The commencement regulations then add a transitional rule. The additional appeal right applies only where the report, allegation or complaint relates to conduct occurring on or after 26 November 2026. In practical terms, the commencement date does not reopen older conduct cases; it creates a forward-looking cut-off that separates pre-commencement and post-commencement behaviour.
That drafting has immediate operational consequences. The date of the alleged conduct, not simply the date of the complaint or decision, will matter when appeal rights are being assessed. As a practical consequence, Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority and representatives acting in senior-officer cases will need early clarity on chronology, case categorisation and tribunal access once section 10 is in force. (legislation.gov.uk)
The change sits within a longer reform process. The 2025 Act received Royal Assent on 4 March 2025, section 22 allows Scottish Ministers to commence the remaining provisions by regulations, and sections 21 to 23 came into force the next day. A Scottish Parliament research briefing says the legislation followed the Angiolini Review and was designed to create more robust, clear and transparent arrangements for complaints, misconduct and scrutiny in Scottish policing. (legislation.gov.uk)