POLICE Scotland’s civilian watchdog has been heavily criticised in a report.

It found there is “no clear vision, strategy or plan in place” for the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and that the chairwoman and a number of board members are acting “well outwith their core non-executive roles”, contrary to their agreed job descriptions and guidelines.

The HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) report also said “limited progress” had been made in tackling structural issues and a “conflict of interest” is caused by the SPA being both a service provider to and scrutiny body of Police Scotland.

SPA chairwoman Susan Deacon defended the organisation, saying: “The SPA board is actively taking forward a range of work to progress improvements in the leadership and governance of policing, much of which is actively addressing issues identified in the HMICS report.

“We are committed to continuing to work closely with a range of partners including the Scottish Government to accelerate the pace of change and improvement and to ensure that the authority is able to carry out its functions effectively as envisaged in the legislation.”

Scottish Liberal Democrats justice spokesman Liam McArthur said the report highlighted a need for a new corporate structure at the SPA, as well as a review of the roles of the chair and board members.

“The Scottish Government and SPA must now lay out a timetable for this to take place,” he said.