Further Detail

The annual budget is essentially a plan detailing how the organisation intends to allocate financial resources throughout the year to achieve organisational and financial objectives.  The budget includes a number of assumptions which will be ratified with the decisions made through formal internal and external governance processes.

Scottish Government’s 2023/24 budget confirmed a £80.0m core funding uplift for policing (6.4%).  Although this uplift is not as severe as the flat cash position indicated by the Resource Spending Review, it still represents a real terms reduction in funding when set against the additional cost of 2022/23 pay award (£37.0m), leaving only £43.0m to fund unavoidable pay and non-pay pressures for 2023/24.

Officer and staff budgets have been based on assumed updated operating models, with a provision for pay included in line with Scottish Government’s fair work guidance.

As part of the core revenue budget, the cost of the post mortem toxicology services transfer from Glasgow University to the SPA has been baselined into core revenue (£2.3m).

In addition to the above, it is assumed that revenue funding will be provided in-year to support the continued recovery of the justice system (£2.1m), drug driving legislation and other funded initiatives. 

Capital and reform funding for 2023/24 has been proposed at flat capital of £53.0m (including capital receipts) and reform has been baselined at £20.0m, with a further £5.0m of reform allocated to the Justice Sector for justice transformation / blue light collaboration.

The full budget report is attached at appendix A.

The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 (sections 86 and 87), the Scottish Police Authority (Provision of Goods and Services) Order 2013 and other supporting legislation enables the Scottish Police Authority to both provide and charge for goods and services.

The charge out rates have been increased for 2023/24 in line with the budgeting assumptions outlined in appendix A.  Any changes to fees which are set by statue will be applied as they occur. The charges for other non-statutory services are proposed to be uplifted in line with the NPCC guidance and the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Details of the proposed charges for events and other services are included at appendix B.

This paper was presented to the SPA Resources Committee on 09 March 2023 where members made a recommendation to the Authority to approve its contents.