Police Pension board

Shirley is an experienced board director with expertise in leading people, transformation and service delivery. She has a professional background in Human Resources, Executive Leadership and Development along with significant experience in Programme Management. In her current role she also leads on Communications, Corporate Governance, Operational Planning and Resilience.

She began her career in Central Government in London before moving to the private sector, the Police Service and joined NHS Scotland in 1996. In 2012 she was appointed to the Scottish Government as NHS Scotland’s Chief People Officer and Director of Health Workforce, Leadership and Service Reform. In addition to this position she became Scottish Government Director for EU Exit and Transition in 2019.

Shirley graduated in 1986 with a BA (Hons) from Newcastle University. In addition she has a Master’s Degree in International Human Resource Management and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. She has also completed the Ashridge Business School Senior Executive programme and worked with international leaders as part of the Commonwealth Leadership Development programme of which she is an alumnus.

Outside of work, she has held Non Executive positions at Borders College and has recently been appointed to the Court of Edinburgh Napier University.

Steven is a former Risk & Compliance Chief Operating Officer within Standard Life Aberdeen. He has a detailed understanding of Financial Services Regulation and how to apply it. He has strong influencing and stakeholder management skills. Steven is an experienced manager and his other previous roles include being Marketing Director for AEGON Scottish Equitable International and Deputy Chairman of the industry body, the Association of International Life Offices (AILO). Steven lives in West Linton.

Having spent 32 years in the police service (with four years as Chair of the Scottish Chief Police Officers Staff Association) Andrew Barker has developed a keen interest in police pensions. Following his retirement as Chief Constable of Fife Constabulary in 2013, he was retained by Chief Officers within Police Scotland as General Secretary of SCPOSA.

In each of these roles, he was and is currently closely involved in the formation and development of regulations relating to Chief Officers in association with the Scottish Government and Scottish Police Authority. He has had a close involvement in all matters relating to the conditions of service of police officers of all ranks, including pensions. He’s also been a member of the Staff Side of the Police Negotiating Board since 2009 and has carried this role to the newly formed Scottish Police Negotiating Board and Scottish Police Consultative Forum, where he represents Chief Officers. Andrew was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in the 2013 New Year's Honours List.

Brian joined Lothian and Borders Police in November 1990. He was elected as the Sergeants representative for Operational division in 2004 and remained a member of Lothian and Borders Joint Branch Board until the creation of Police Scotland where he became a Sergeants representative role for J Division as part of the East Area Committee.

Brian became the Chair of the East Area Committee of the Scottish Police Federation in February 2015. He was elected as the Assistant to the General Secretary for Health and Safety in March 2017 and then Vice Chair of the Scottish Police Federation in April 2020. He currently has the strategic oversight for Health and Safety, Training and Members Services.

His interests include, playing golf, attending the local gym and walks with the dog.

Lorna Cunningham is the Deputy General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation. Lorna joined Strathclyde Police in 2002 and has been a Federation representative since 2015.

Sharon Dalli is a Pensions Manager with Police Scotland. She’s an Associate of the Pensions Management Institute and has been involved in the pensions' industry for over 25 years, which has provided her with a range of technical and operational expertise including over nine years’ direct involvement in Police Pensions’ administration and matters relating to policy and compliance, at local and national levels.

Sharon chairs the UK Police Pensions Technical Working Group in conjunction with the Home Office, sharing experience with colleagues in forces in England and Wales. Having sat as a member of the Consultative Panel for Lothian Pension Fund for the last two years, and being involved in the PNB SSC PWG, she has had involvement with pension committees and has responsibility for presenting on pension matters for the organisation at committee meetings of the Scottish Police Authority. Sharon has been involved in the implementation of changes in the police pension schemes in both 2006 and 2015, and tax changes since 2006, which have had implications for police officers pensions'.

In previous roles, she has managed implementation of pension services for external clients, provided services to Trustees, and managed teams responsible for pensions service delivery, client management and within consultancy. Sharon also led the recent project for the organisation to transfer the pension administration to SPPA from legacy forces.

David is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) with over 30 years of experience in the public sector, predominantly in the NHS, education and local government sectors. For the past 10 years, David has specialised in statutory reporting and as part of this overall responsibility, he has worked closely with auditors and actuarial advisors to ensure accurate and full employee benefit reporting and disclosure, including pension scheme details. This period also covered detailed work on the adoption of International Accounting Standard 19 (IAS19) by public sector bodies which led to the inclusion of pension liabilities within published core financial statements along with supporting notes.

David has provided support to a range of Audit Committees and Boards of Management during his career, and currently works closely with Police Scotland colleagues to ensure accurate records and forecasts on pension costs and funding. This also involves regular updates and discussion with Scottish Government officers to advise and discuss levels and trends for these areas

Darren is an experienced HR professional, with approximately 20 years' experience, the majority of which has been gained within the public sector across the NHS, Local Government and Scottish Government sectors, and most recently within policing, having joined the Scottish Police Authority in 2018 as Head of HR Governance. Relevant to his role on the Pension Board, Darren has particular experience in the areas of governance and risk management. Darren graduated in 2000 with an MA (Hons) from Glasgow University. In addition, he has a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management and is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Personnel & Development.