Police Scotland Chief Constable Iain Livingstone hits out at ‘derisory’ funding from Scottish Government
CHIEF Constable Iain Livingstone today launched a furious blast at Police Scotland’s “derisory” funding from the Scottish Government.
The nation's top cop warned the force was having to “make do and mend” following £200 million of cuts since the Scotland-wide merger of regional forces in 2013.
He said huge pressures like this year’s UN climate summit in Glasgow meant he would have to further delay a plan to cut a £40 million overspend by reducing cop numbers.
He also admitted the massive COP26 event in November - attended by 200 world leaders - would "impact on the wider community" with officers drawn from across Scotland and the wider UK.
Police Scotland could be forced to slash 1,500 cops within three years
And in a sign of mounting frustration with the Scottish Government, Mr Livingstone said “real terms” budget increases routinely hailed by SNP ministers had only come about after the force made “significant savings” of £200 million.
He said: “We’ve taken £200 million a year out of the core cost of policing. I don’t think we’ve had the recognition and acknowledgment that that provides.”
In clear plea to SNP ministers ahead of the Holyrood Budget on February 6, Mr Livingstone said: “My pitch is actually .. ‘Can we get some of those savings back?’”
Amid tense exchanges at a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority, he said the force’s capital budget - set by SNP minister to pay for buildings, vehicles, equipment, and projects to modernise the force - was “derisory for the size of organisation that we’ve got”.
Police figures show it got £78 million of capital funding in the past three years - 30 per cent of the £260 million it required.
The Chief Constable let rip about the settlement after being asked by SPA board member Elaine Wilkinson how the force could keep up the “pace of transformation” for overhauling the force despite the demands including the COP26 climate summit - which he estimated could cost £200 million.
Mr Livingstone said the event - attended by 90,000 delegates, and possibly thousands of protesters - was “of another magnitude” to the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the 2001 papal visit, or the 2005 G8 summit at Gleneagles in Perthshire.
He also pointed to Euro 2020 matches in Glasgow, and potential Brexit impacts such as sending officers to Northern Ireland if no trade deal is done by the end of the year and there’s border-related trouble.
He said 2019 was an “enormous challenge” and said: “Our capital budget is derisory for the size of organisation that we’ve got. We’ve come so far with our ability to make do and mend.
“We’ve come so far with the ability of officers and staff to have work-arounds.”
And on modernising the force - including an IT overhaul - he said: “Unless we have that investment we won’t be able to deliver on the plans that we have.
“We’ve got good plans, we’ve got good people, we’ve got energy, we’ve got commitment, a culture in the organisation to work collaboratively to work collectively, And we need that investment.”
We told yesterday how 1,500 cops could have to be cut by 2023 to balance the books if Police Scotland doesn’t get a £70 million bailout it wants from SNP ministers. Mr Livingstone and the SPA called on the UK Government to agree to fund the estimated £200 million for COP26.
SPA vice chair David Crichton said: “Frankly, current officer numbers are not sustainable within the existing budget. So something has to change on that front.”
At the meeting, Mr Livingstone said Police Scotland faced its busiest year - and said COP26 would place huge pressure on community policing.
And he said because of this, he could not cut police numbers to balance the books.
Our capital budget is derisory for the size of organisation that we’ve got. We’ve come so far with our ability to make do and mend. We’ve come so far with the ability of officers and staff to have work-arounds.”
Mr Livingstone said: "My key priorities will be to police COP26 while of course ensuring the citizens of Scotland are effectively protected and policed while we meet the policing requirements of the conference.
“But, candidly, it is my professional opinion that any suggestion that the climate change conference will not impact on the wider community of Scotland is fanciful.
“But of course my duty is to take the appropriate steps to minimise that impact and mitigate any extraordinary demand in terms of day-to-day policing in every community
“So with that in mind it is my assessment that policing must retain its capacity for the mass mobilisation of officers, certainly in short to medium term through 2020.
“I do not therefore believe it’s appropriate to begin the process of reducing officer numbers in March, as had been my plan in order to address the budget deficit that you alluded to, vice chair, which prior to the acute and unprecedented demands , I outlined.”
The November climate conference at Glasgow's SEC complex will see restricted areas put in place near the venue, including a zone which will effectively become UN "territory".
Mr Livingstone said it would be "far more significant than" than past events like Glasgow 2014. he said: "I know from personal experience, having been involved in the Commonwealth Games, the papal visit, the G8 summit, quite how demanding and overwhelming they were.
"The climate conference is of another magnitude, in our assessment at this time."
Speaking about addition pressures on the force, Mr Livingstone said the number of Loyalist and Republican parades in Scotland soared last year.
He said: “The number of parades - Orange walks, Republican marches and such like - which Police Scotland were notified of, increased by almost 20 per cent, from around 1500 to 1800, often resulting in large policing response necessary to maintain order and to protect public.”
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Mr Livingstone added that the “force reserve” - a riot-cop unit initially earmarked for feared Brexit-related trouble - was deployed to parades “on a number of those occasions”.
Parades led to mayhem on the streets of Glasgow last year, including a full-scale riot in August with clashes between Republicans and Loyalists.
But the parades can’t be banned outright right to march is protected under human rights laws.
Liam Kerr, Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary, said: “This is damning criticism of the SNP from the Chief Constable.
“Police Scotland has been cut to the bone by the SNP, and it is now affecting operational capability.
“The SNP’s budget has been increasing, they have no excuse for not giving Police Scotland the funds and the officers it needs.”
Scottish Labour Justice spokesperson James Kelly said: “Since the bungled creation of Police Scotland our police service has been cut to the bone by the SNP.
“It is high time Humza Yousaf listened to senior police officers such as Iain Livingstone and realised that you cannot keep the people of Scotland safe on the cheap.”
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