The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) has five statutory core functions:• to maintain the Police Service;• to promote the policing principles set out in the 2012 Act;• to promote and support continuous improvement in the policing of Scotland;• to keep under review the policing of Scotland; and• to hold the Chief Constable to account for the policing of ScotlandThese five functions demonstrate the dual, integrated responsibilities of the SPA: its oversight role in scrutinising policing in Scotland and holding the Chief Constable to account; and its supportive role in maintaining and improving the Police Service. The SPA is also responsible for the management and delivery of Forensic Services in Scotland.The SPA aims to increase public trust and confidence in the policing of Scotland in the way it carries out its functions and through the quality of its governance arrangements.

The IPPR Scotland Advisory Board’s role will be to shape the policy research programme for IPPR Scotland, and to steer the organisational direction of IPPR Scotland.

The Alex Ferry Foundation is a new philanthropic Foundation. It aims to improve the lives of people who work or have worked in the UK shipbuilding, engineering and related manufacturing industries, as well as their families and dependants. I was asked to lead the Alex Ferry Foundation through its challenging start-up phase. To develop its Strategic Plan and grant making priorities and processes. To draft the internal policies and procedures required of an efficient charity and recruit the first full time member of staff. The Foundation now has the solid platform to become an effective grant maker. I stood down as Chair after the successful May AGM as the Foundation now moves from the intensity of a start-up to steady state delivery. It is a unique charity. Never before has such a significant sum been awarded for the benefit of lay members of trade unions and their communities before. The Foundation was created with the assets of a trust fund established in 1989 by the CSEU to provide financial support to workers in the UK shipbuilding and engineering industries and in related manufacturing industries who were then engaged in industrial action. It is thought that approximately 200,000 trade union members contributed to the fund, with their contributions constituting the vast majority of the assets donated. Following conclusion of the Initial campaign and industrial action, a surplus was left in the fund which over time, that surplus has increased very considerably with investment return. That sum of many £million will now provide the initial funding of Alex Ferry Limited.

Carnegie UK Trust seeks to improve the lives and wellbeing of people throughout the UK and Ireland through influencing public policy and demonstrating innovative practice. The remit of the Trust has been the same since we began in 1913, although our approach has changed over time. In the past, the Trust was involved in supporting communities and voluntary action particularly through funding for libraries, village halls, national parks, youth projects, community development, the arts and the environment.There was an increasing concern that our model of short-term funding, prevalent across the foundation world, had not been an effective way of addressing changing issues and needs. The Strategic Plan for 2016-2020 outlines that we are an operating Trust that makes effective and active decisions about the work plans. We no longer take unsolicited grant applications, but seek to build partnerships with other organisations for specific pieces of work.

The Institute for Social Renewal (NISR) is Newcastle University’s response to the challenges facing society today. NISR brings together research with a social purpose. We aim to help individuals and communities thrive in times of rapid transformational change. External Advisory Board The External Advisory Board provides an external perspective on the Institute’s strategy and vision, with members drawn from policy and practice as well as academia.

A new short-life group established by the Carnegie UK Trust and the RSA will consider how job quality can be measured and tracked on a UK-wide basis.

An independent review of legal aid was announced to Parliament by the Minister of Community Safety and Legal Affairs, Annabelle Ewing on 2 February 2017.The review has been established by the Scottish Government with the aim to fulfil the Programme for Government commitment to: ‘engage with the legal profession and others to identify during this year specific measures to reform Scotland’s system of legal aid, maintaining access to public funding for legal advice and representation in both civil and criminal cases alongside measures to expand access to alternative methods of resolving disputes.’The legal aid system provides publicly funded legal advice and representation in court for those most in need. With legislation in Scotland dating back nearly 30 years, the review will explore how best the legal aid system can contribute to improving people’s lives now and in the future. This review is about ensuring that there is a flexible and progressive system that is sustainable and cost effective.The review, which is expected to last a year, is being chaired by Martyn Evans, chief executive of the Carnegie UK Trust, an organisation dedicated to improving wellbeing for those who are disadvantaged.

Co-chair of short life review of the Scottish Health Council. The Scottish Health Council was established in April 2005 to promote Patient Focus and Public Involvement in the NHS in Scotland

The Peter Gibson Memorial Fund (PGMF) supports activities that contribute to improving the quality of life of Scottish consumers. Our Travelling Scholarship supports individuals to go abroad to research consumer issues, returning to use what they have learned and experienced to the benefit of Scottish consumers.

The Fairer Fife Commission was established by Fife council. It is independent of the Council. The remit is to take a strategic overview of the scale, scope and nature of poverty in Fife and how effectively it’s being tackled. It will focus attention on issues including financial capability, welfare advice, transport links, employability skills, childcare provision, early years, educational attainment, health inequalities, housing and homelessness and addressing stigma. It reported in November 2015.

The report was published in March 2015. Copy here http://bit.ly/1Slfubh

The Carnegie Roundtable on Measuring Wellbeing in Northern Ireland works with Carnegie Associates at the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast, Peter Doran and John Woods. The roundtable will seek to raise awareness of the importance of measuring wellbeing and the positive impact that this has on policy development. It will also explore the steps necessary to develop a wellbeing framework in Northern Ireland focused on achieving wellbeing outcomes and to generate cross-party support for this. It will also be designed to take evidence from other stakeholders. Report here http://bit.ly/1Bz1mnS

This is the second phase of Expert Working Group on Welfare. Having made initial recommendations to Scottish Ministers in June, the Expert Working Group on Welfare considered medium and long-term policy and delivery options for a welfare system in an independent Scotland. A summary can be downloaded here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/welfarereform/EXPERTWORKINGGROUPONWELFARE/welfarereformEXPERTWORKINGGROUPONWELFAREcpagsummar