Report Summary
The Scottish Police Authority attended the Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday 30 October 2024 to give evidence as part of its pre-budget scrutiny. The Authority submitted written evidence in advance setting out the context for the policing budget and the challenges and requirements for the years ahead. This aimed to support Committee Members’ questioning on the day.
To access the full document please open the PDF from the link above.
To view accessible HTML content, please use the sections below.
Capital
The Scottish Police Authority has a need for £83m capital investment in 2025/26 to deliver the basic rolling replacement programme of fleet, systems and policing equipment. This compares with a forecast spend of £67.5m in 2024/25. This investment for 2025/26 will also support delivery of a radical redesign of our estate which will be considered by the Authority in November prior to more formal consultation.
The Authority recognises that there is unprecedented demand across the public sector for capital funding. However, the result of a decade of underinvestment in the police estate and technology has now become the single most pressing investment issue for policing.
Over the next 10-years we anticipate net additional capital expenditure of circa £200m related solely to additional spend on the estate incremental to current budget levels, assuming all proceeds from property sales can be retained.
We recognise that this is a significant financial outlay at a time of considerable fiscal constraint. However, the current position is no longer sustainable. The Authority would welcome discussions with the Scottish Government about financial flexibilities with the management of capital receipts and the legal power of the Authority to borrow (under section 4(2b) of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 with Ministerial Approval). This borrowing power has never been exploited and could release the capital investment required beyond the regular grant funding.
