UNISON Scotland, the union for police staff, has called for urgent intervention from the Scottish Government to prioritise public safety and properly fund the police service.
The Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee is meeting today (Wednesday) to scrutinise the Scottish Government’s budget for 2023/24 and its impact on policing, as well as other areas of criminal justice.
The Police Service and Scottish Police Authority have provided written evidence which threatens massive cuts to the police service in Scotland unless the Scottish Government significantly increases funding. The submission warns that significant cost savings can only be delivered through a pay-freeze or by funding cost-of-living pay awards by reducing the size of the workforce. It said around 4,500 jobs may need to be cut unless the service receives proper funding.
Michelle Brewster, UNISON Scotland police branch secretary said: “These figures by Police Scotland are deeply alarming and threatens the safety of everyone in Scotland.
“Police staff in Scotland have already borne the brunt of cuts over the last decade and there has already been more than 2,600 job losses. To threaten to cut thousands more will completely decimate the service and pose a huge risk to public safety.
“Over the years police staff pay has been frozen and it has never recovered, so to suggest police staff might have to take a pay freeze when we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis is a slap-in-the-face for hard-working police staff.
“The police service is already the thinnest of thin blue lines. Cuts of this magnitude could see large scale job losses to forensics, fraud, analyst and counter terrorism. It’s impossible to make such dramatic job reductions without putting the safety of the public at greater risk.
“We need urgent intervention from the Scottish Government to ensure that the police service is properly-funded and that we keep our communities safe.”
Notes to editors
- The Police Service and Scottish Police Authority will be giving oral evidence today (Wednesday). Key points within their written submission include:
“Our [Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland] initial analysis shows that for policing in Scotland to operate within a flat-cash funding allocation, savings of between £200m and £300m are required over the period, an average of between £50 m and £75 m per annum, in order to accommodate pay awards and absorb non-pay inflationary pressure.”
“Such cuts would follow significant reform which has already enabled £200 m to be removed from the annual cost base of policing in Scotland compared to legacy arrangements. This has been achieved through significant reductions in chief officer, senior officer and staff numbers, as well as efficiencies and improved working practices.”
“Pay represents 86% of policing in Scotland’s revenue budget. Further, significant, cost reductions can only be delivered through a pay-freeze or by funding cost of living pay awards by reducing the size of the workforce. By way of illustration, a 1% pay rise across the organisation would cost approximately £11 m. £11 m is the annual cost of employing 225 officers or staff.”
You can read the full submission here (page 6) : https://www.parliament.scot/~/media/committ/4224
- UNISON represents police staff throughout Scotland. UNISON is the largest union in Scotland and represents members in local government, health, education, social care, police services and energy and utilities.
UNISON Contacts
- Michelle Brewster, UNISON police staff branch secretary: 07713 849556
- Danny Phillips, communications officer: 0771 771 5277 / 07944 664110 d.phillips@unison.co.uk