Police freeze recruitment

Strathclyde Police has announced it will freeze recruitment for both police officers and police staff. The freeze on support staff takes immediate effect, while the recruitment of officers will be suspended after the current intake of 65 probationary officers enter the Scottish Police College this month.

A planned intake of 100 probationary officers to the College between August and October will now not go ahead and all of those affected are being informed of the decision. Thirty of those who have completed the recruitment process will now be placed in an ‘approved for appointment’ pool and may be called upon if and when suitable vacancies arise.

Strathclyde Police currently has 8,038 officers which it pays for out of its own budget. Taking into account officers who are paid for by other bodies - such as the community planning partnerships led by councils such as Glasgow - this figure rises to 8,410.

This decision was taken by the force as a result of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding public sector budgets and has very clearly become an urgent human resources issue impacting on management of that budget by the force.

It directly follows Scotland's senior police meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice last week, when Kenny MacAskill stated that a reduction of up to 10% was now expected next year from Scottish policing budgets, substantially more than was planned and discussed previously with the Scottish Government.

This is an obvious impact of the statement by the Deputy First Minister indicating that Scottish Ministers are "protecting health spending by passing on Barnet consequentials". That must mean bigger cuts in funding for police and local government.

A recruitment freeze had already been implemented in other Scottish forces but this significant increase in the savings target for the coming financial year placed a pressing need on the Strathclyde force to act more swiftly than anticipated on a range of issues.

Restrictions on recruitment were mentioned as a key future measure in managing the impact of savings at meetings of Strathclyde Police Authority over recent months and this had effectively become the case for civilian support staff across Strathclyde Police. Unions were also aware it would be developed as a means of protecting services and jobs in the face of significant cuts, given that local authorities had taken similar steps.

Following my election in April as Police Authority convener, I recently met with UNISON and Strathclyde Police Federation. I recognise how vitally important it is that all unions representing support staff and police officers are informed and consulted by the force as this work develops further.

The prospect of a recruitment freeze was also discussed with senior police as an aspect of the force’s “Change to Improve” service reform programme, informed by the direct experience of the Police Authority's elected members with recruitment freezes already applying in a number of councils across the Strathclyde area.

I met the Chief Constable a few hours after the recruitment freeze was announced publicly and we discussed the context for the decision as outlined above along with other measures to meet the necessary savings for balancing our budget in coming years.

We will clearly be discussing the impact in some detail across the Authority at future meetings. Ideally there should have been time for us to consider this more fully prior to the announcement, but the force understandably felt there was a pressing need to act earlier than anticipated.

I welcome the Chief Constable and Deputy Chief Constable showing leadership in difficult times, by opting today to forego performance bonuses worth over £25,000 and £16,000 each despite their entitlement.

Strathclyde Police is not immune from the financial crisis facing the public sector and the reality of the looming budget deficit means there is little option but to freeze recruitment at this stage.

The Police Authority is keen to reassure officers, staff and the public that every possible measure is being taken to protect services in addressing the severe financial pressures we face.

Ideas for a fairer Scotland

Last year I was elected in a postal ballot to represent Labour Party members from Glasgow South and Glasgow South West constituencies on our Scottish Policy Forum.

The road to the 2011 manifesto is well underway. At Scottish Labour conference this October, we will agree the final year policy documents that will form the basis for next May's Scottish Parliament election manifesto. However, it isn’t too late to send in your response to our second year policy consultation.

Due to the General Election, the opportunity to take part in the consultation was extended to Friday 30 July. Constituency parties received paper copies of the consultation document and have been meeting to form their own replies.

To send in your own individual views, please download Ideas for a fairer Scotland and feed in your own response.

Single Scottish police force

There has been considerable debate in recent days around the impact of savings on Scottish policing following a meeting of senior police officers, with a suggestion that the eight forces currently serving Scotland could be reduced perhaps leading to one national police force.

Strathclyde's Chief Constable has even indicated that a single force may be more "effective" while the Scottish Police Federation expressed concerns over the costs of possible restructuring.

As convener of Strathclyde Police Authority - the board of councillors responsible for the budget and scrutiny of policing across almost half of Scotland - I recognise that the Strathclyde force has a national strategic role with a level of expertise and resource substantially greater than smaller Scottish forces which may suggest some need for realignment.

With the pressing need for substantial savings in police budgets for the forseeable future, I am very keen for police authorities and forces to collaborate in "blue sky" thinking; every idea should be considered to meet the financial challenges with genuine service reform.

I am relaxed about the number and name of police forces covering Scotland as those should remain secondary issues. The level of service and accountability to communities across Scotland are far more important.

With Scottish ministers stating they will protect health spending by passing on Barnet consequentials, we also have to question any additional impact on funding for police as a vital public service.

There's a real risk of yet more pressure on police budgets, as Scotland's councils fund 49% of policing and they will undoubtedly find greater strain on this resource in future.

It is easy to propose a single force in theory with the current financial challenges facing policing and the wider Scottish public sector, but we would still need to reassure residents in every area of Scotland that they would receive a service that had local autonomy in responding to concerns and demands. This should not simply be a budget-balancing exercise.

That means an honest look at the future shape of Scottish policing and what is really needed to deliver a modern and effective service for communities across Strathclyde and Scotland.