Police Pension board

Shirley is an experienced board Chair 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. She is currently the Chair of the Scottish Qualifications Authority and is leading that organisation through its transformation into Qualifications Scotland. She was previously Vice Chair at Scottish Borders College.

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 before becoming Scottish Government Director for Performance Delivery and Resilience. She retired from that post in 2023.

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.

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

Eddie Pilkington joined Police Scotland as Pensions Manager in June 2025. Eddie is an experienced finance professional having graduated in 2006 with an MA (Hons) in Financial Services from Glasgow Caledonian University.

Eddie's experience in the pensions industry spans over 15 years covering all aspects of Pension Scheme Management, working with and building relationships with large private sector Defined Contribution, Final Salary and CARE schemes. Eddie also worked for the 'Financial Services Compensation Scheme' (FSCS) as the Technical manager supporting on redress related to Final Salary and Self Invested Personal Pensions.

Before joining policing, Eddie worked as a Pensions Administration Manager overseeing all aspects of pension scheme delivery, accounts, reporting and projects. His role included managing multiple teams responsible for delivering pension services

Patrick Brown is a Chartered Accountant currently fulfilling the role of Acting Director of Strategy and Analysis but his substantive role is Head of Finance at Police Scotland. The Head of Finance has responsibility for the Pensions Service within Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority.  Patrick has significant experience in the public, private and third sector and prior to joining Police Scotland, held senior civil servant roles in UK Government Departments and executive management roles.

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.