Question reference: S5W-34698
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 21 January 2021
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 February 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that, because of financial issues, Police Scotland might have to reduce numbers by around 4,000 officers and/or move them to civilian roles, and whether it will consider increasing Police Scotland's funding to prevent this.
Answer
Police Scotland’s Strategic Workforce Plan was presented at the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) Board meeting on 22 January 2021. This plan has been developed to ensure that the service is best placed to meet changing demands, and enable Police Scotland to identify the officer, staff and skills profile needed to best serve Scotland’s communities.
The recruitment of Police Officers is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, who has recently stated that there are currently no plans to reduce police officer numbers. There are currently 17,249 police officers (as at 30 September 2020), significantly above the level inherited in 2007.
As announced in the Scottish Budget on 28 January 2021, the Scottish Government’s total budget for policing in 2021-22 will be over £1.3 billion. The SPA budget will increase by a total of £75.5m, a 6.1% increase compared to 2020-21. This will eliminate the structural deficit in Police Scotland’s budget and deliver a sustainable policing budget position. The allocation of this budget to policing priorities is a matter for the SPA and the Chief Constable.