– in the Scottish Parliament at on 9 January 2018.
2. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the ruling of the recent employment tribunal in favour of the fingerprint officer, Fiona McBride. (S5T-00861)
The case has been running for many years and indeed since before the creation of Police Scotland or the Scottish Police Authority. It is a complex issue, and I note that the latest employment tribunal ruling was made towards the end of December 2017 and awarded Ms McBride compensation for her loss of earnings and pension contributions since 2007. It is for the SPA to consider its response to the ruling.
Can the minister confirm how much taxpayers’ money the Scottish Police Services Authority and now the SPA have spent to date in opposing Fiona McBride’s reinstatement, given that the legal fees for the Supreme Court case alone amount to a staggering £257,120? Can the minister also confirm who the SPA is accountable to for that expenditure?
I am afraid that I do not have before me the total figure as requested by Margaret Mitchell; that is a matter for the SPA.
As I said, the SPA is to consider the employment tribunal ruling, and it is for the SPA to do so. I understand that it is in the process of making that consideration, and therefore I recognise that there could be a risk that any comment on the decision could trigger, to some extent, some sub judice considerations.
Does the minister consider it reasonable that, as a consequence of the SPSA’s and then the SPA’s refusal to accept the original tribunal decision in 2009, Fiona McBride has now had to wait 10 years for a definitive decision about her reinstatement? It appears, from what the minister has just said, that even now Ms McBride’s position is still not certain.
As I said in my answer a moment ago, it is for the SPA to consider the ruling of the employment tribunal, which I think was communicated to it at the end of December 2017. As I also indicated, there is perhaps a risk that any substantive comment on the ruling at this stage, could, to an extent, trigger sub judice issues. That militates against me as a minister making such a comment.