NICOLA Sturgeon has clashed with Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw over who exactly is “short-changing” Scotland’s police service.
The argument at First Minister’s Questions came as Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Federation, and the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, all wrote to the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing warning that the settlement proposed for for the single service force in the budget was not enough.
Sturgeon said the Tories had “a cheek” to raise issues of underfunding, given that the Scottish Government had been underfunded because of austerity imposed by the UK Government.
READ MORE: Officer accuses Scottish Government of 'underfunding' Police Scotland
The First Minister also said the Scottish Government was open to listening to “credible proposals” made by opposition parties on changes to the budget. Sturgeon said David Page, a deputy chief officer at Police Scotland, had “welcomed” an increase in resource funding – with the force given £17 million more than expected.
However, Page said in the same letter that “the draft Budget continues the long-term trend of Police Scotland being structurally underfunded”.
Carlaw said: “It’s quite clear that neither she nor her Government have come anywhere close to meeting the budget allocation that front-line officers and the Scottish Police Authority believe is needed to ensure a sustainable policing service.”
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon says Scottish Tories have 'a cheek' to raise funding issues
The First Minister said: “Jackson Carlaw is the representative of a party in the rest of the UK that cut police numbers by 20,000. So I think he should reflect on that. I would remind the chamber that the Tories have presided over a real-terms cut of the Scottish budget over the last decade of £1.5 billion.”
Carlaw said the Scottish Government was in line for a £96m funding boost in Barnett consequentials and accused Sturgeon of “short-changing Scotland’s police officers”.
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