# The Police Service of Scotland (Conduct) Amendment Regulations 2026, Regulation 21: Notification of determination and action to be taken


For regulation 23 (notification of determination and action to be taken), substitute—
“Notification of determination, action to be taken and publication
23. (1) The person conducting the misconduct proceedings must, as soon as reasonably practicable and not later than 10 working days from the date of conclusion of the misconduct proceedings, submit a report to the deputy chief constable setting out—
(a) the determination of the person conducting the misconduct proceedings under regulation 21(1),
(b) the reasons for the determination,
(c) what improvement or disciplinary action is to be taken, and
(d) where it was determined that the conduct of the constable amounted to gross misconduct but the disciplinary action imposed was not dismissal without notice, the reasons for that decision.
(2) The report submitted to the deputy chief constable under paragraph (1) must be the full report and information must not be withheld, redacted or anonymised.
(3) Before disclosing the report to any other person or publishing it, the deputy chief constable must, having regard to paragraph (5), consider, separately in relation to—
(a) disclosure to the constable,
(b) disclosure to any person under paragraph (8), and
(c) publication under paragraph (10),
whether any information contained in the report should be withheld, redacted or anonymised.
(4) Where the deputy chief constable determines that information should be withheld, redacted or anonymised for any purpose specified in paragraph (3), the deputy chief constable must—
(a) record the reasons for that determination, including the category of disclosure to which it applies,
(b) ensure that the appropriate version of the report is prepared and used for that purpose.
(5) In considering the matters mentioned in paragraph (3), the deputy chief constable may produce different versions of the report where the deputy chief constable considers this to be necessary and proportionate, having regard to—
(a) the nature of the information concerned,
(b) the purpose of the disclosure,
(c) the rights and interests of any data subject.
(6) A report submitted to the deputy chief constable under paragraph (1) must—
(a) in a case where a written warning has been given, explain the effect of regulation 22(4) and (7)(a) in relation to any future misconduct allegation,
(b) in a case where a final written warning has been given, explain the effect of regulation 22(5), (6), (7)(b) and (8) in relation to such an allegation,
(c) in a case where it is determined that any conduct of the constable amounts to misconduct or (as the case may be) gross misconduct, include notice of—
(i) the constable’s right to appeal under regulation 24, and
(ii) the name of the person to whom an appeal should be submitted.
(7) As soon as practicable after receiving the report, the deputy chief constable must notify the constable of the outcome of the misconduct proceedings by providing a copy of the report, subject to such withholding, redaction or anonymisation as the deputy chief constable considers necessary in accordance with paragraph (3)(a).
(8) Where the misconduct proceedings arose from a complaint made by a member of the public, a constable, a member of the Authority’s staff or a member of police staff, the deputy chief constable must provide a copy of the report to the person who made the complaint, subject to such withholding, redaction or anonymisation as the deputy chief constable considers necessary in accordance with paragraph (3)(b).
(9) In determining what information may be withheld, redacted or anonymised for the purposes of paragraph (8), the deputy chief constable must have particular regard to whether the information—
(a) comprises personal data relating to the constable or any other individual which is not necessary to enable the recipient to understand the outcome and reasons for it, or
(b) relates to private or personal circumstances which do not materially affect the determination or disciplinary outcome.
(10) Subject to paragraph (12), the deputy chief constable must publish a version of the report.
(11) In relation to publication, the deputy chief constable may only withhold, redact or anonymise information in the report—
(a) insofar as the deputy chief constable considers this is—
(i) necessary for the purpose of preventing the premature or inappropriate disclosure of information that is relevant to, or may be used in, criminal proceedings,
(ii) necessary for the purpose of the prevention or detection of crime, or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders,
(iii) necessary for the purpose of the prevention or detection of misconduct by other constables or police staff,
(iv) necessary and proportionate for the protection of the welfare and safety of any informant or witness,
(v) otherwise in the public interest, and
(b) in line with any restrictions imposed on the disclosure of information during the course of the proceedings.
(12) The deputy chief constable may dispense with the requirement under paragraph (10) to publish the report where, having regard to the matters set out in paragraph (11), publication would be inappropriate in the particular circumstances of the case.
(13) Information that has already lawfully been published during the course of the misconduct proceedings may not be withheld, redacted or anonymised for the purposes of publication under this regulation.
(14) Where the deputy chief constable is required to publish the report under paragraph (10), the deputy chief constable must do so—
(a) as soon as reasonably practicable after the constable is notified under paragraph (7), and
(b) on the Police Service of Scotland website for a period of 28 days.”.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2026/276/regulation/21 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/police-service-of-scotland-conduct-amendment-regulations-2026/regulation-21
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.