POLICE Scotland faces a “massive shortfall” in its budget – and Brexit will cause it more cash chaos, official papers say.
Scottish Police Authority (SPA) files reveal a £56.2 million gap between the force’s proposed capital spending and the funding from the Scottish Government this year.
In the report, which is set to be discussed when the SPA meets today, chief financial officer James Gray warns that there is “insufficient funding in 2019-20 to deliver the business case in full”.
And, looking ahead, he said withdrawal from Europe will pose a major challenge to the country’s national police force.
Risks associated with Brexit are expected to cost it an estimated £17m – potentially impacting on officer numbers in the future.
Gray said: “Key elements, including mobility and core-operating solutions, have been prioritised and an extended delivery timeline has been developed for the outstanding projects.
This budget is being presented at a time of political uncertainty and against the backdrop of a challenging
fiscal environment. The additional in-year costs associated with Brexit are assumed to be £17m, representing 400 police officers more than was assumed in the current three-year plan.
“If no additional funding is made available, the operating deficit would increase to £41.6m. Unwinding this position by reducing officer numbers back down to the previously planned position over a number of months – when appropriate to do so – will almost certainly have an impact on subsequent financial years.”
SPA chief executive Hugh Grover added: “In line with the chief constable’s planning assumptions to cover the potential impact of Brexit-related events, officer numbers have not been reduced as previously forecast and an additional 100 officers are being recruited. This puts a potential £17m of pressure on to the budget and the deficit will increase accordingly unless additional funding is provided.
“I have written to the Scottish Government making them aware of the budget pressure and asking for additional funding. To date, I have not received a definitive response.”
Further unexpected costs include changes to GDPR, introduced during the police’s three-year plan, which account for £16.9m that has not been covered by the budget, along with a £17.8m shortfall in “business as usual” capital expenditure from
areas such as police buildings, cars and computers.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are very clear that any costs related to Brexit should not impact on Scotland’s public finances, and should be met by the UK Government in full.
“While the allocation of resources is for the chief constable and SPA to determine, we are protecting the police resource budget in real terms in every year of the current Parliament.
“Total Scottish Government funding for the SPA in 2019-20 is increasing by £42.3m, bringing the annual policing budget to more than £1.2 billion. This includes a 52% increase to the capital budget, providing £12m more – which will fund essential investment in IT infrastructure and support mobile working for officers.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here