Report Summary
Issued 1 March 2024, this FOI response provides information available regarding the Chief Constable's tax arrangements, information held regarding the number of staff with registered addresses in England and explains why some information held is considered exempt from disclosure. Advice is provided that Police Scotland may hold information not held by the Authority.
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Response
1. Is Jo Farrell paying English or Scottish taxes yet and if she is paying Scottish taxes, can you provide evidence for this and when did this happen? If she is not yet, why not?
The information requested can reasonably be obtained.
Letter from Chief Constable Jo Farrell, Police Scotland to the Convener, 21 December 2023 submitted to the Criminal Justice Committee as supplementary evidence following the Committee Meeting on 20 December 2023.
2. All correspondence sent and received by the SPA, including internal correspondence, regarding what income tax Jo Farrell is paying, from between September 1 2023 to the date of this FOI?
The Scottish Police Authority does not hold the information requested.
To explain, payroll functions for officers and staff working in policing in Scotland is undertaken by Police Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Police Authority. As per the letter linked above, the Chief Constable communicated directly with the payroll team on this matter.
Information may be available by contacting Police Scotland at foi@scotland.police.uk
3. How much money has Police Scotland paid out to Gary Ridley in total, and breakdown of what the money was for?
The Scottish Police Authority does not hold the information requested.
Information may be available by contacting Police Scotland at foi@scotland.police.uk
4. How many staff paid by SPA are residents in England out of the total of staff, and how many pay tax to HMRC based on English tax Brackets. Could you disclose what roles they have, i.e chief constable?
Of 5,834.4 FTE police staff (recorded at end December 2023), there are nine with registered addresses in England, some of whom additionally have registered addresses in Scotland. The breakdown of this figure is shown below.
SPA Corporate – 0
SPA Forensic Services – 4
Police Scotland - 5
The role of each individual is held but is considered exempt in terms of the Act as this is personal data. This is an absolute exemption and does not require application of the public interest test. Whilst you may have a legitimate interest in disclosure of this information, it is our view that those interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subjects. Due to the low number of staff in this group, it is likely that individuals could be identified if roles were to be provided. Therefore, it is our view that disclosure of the information sought would be unlawful.
In terms of tax arrangements, the Scottish Police Authority does not hold the information requested. As explained, the payroll function is performed by Police Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Police Authority.
Information may be available by contacting Police Scotland at foi@scotland.police.uk
