Capital and Transformation

In common with other public sector organisations, policing is facing significant financial challenges, including limited capital funding to meet current demands.
The Scottish Government Capital Spending Review indicates a ~£50m flat cash
funding allocation up to FY 2025-26. The graph below shows that our current capital allocation is among the lowest in UK policing on an average FTE basis. This is significantly short of the funding required to improve conditions and equipment for the wellbeing of officers and staff; enable a better service to be provided to the public; and create time saving efficiencies through the use of new technologies.

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Capital investment can be categorised into two broad categories (1) rolling
replacement investment and (2) change and transformation. It is estimated that the current capital allocation represents a 10%-30% reduction in purchasing power due to the current high inflation environment, and that current levels of funding are not sufficient to meet even the rolling replacement programme.

Capital plans indicate that Policing in Scotland requires ~£548m over a five year
period, an average of £110m each year, to be sustainable. The £250m funding
available in a flat cash funding environment is significantly short of this demand,
representing a £298m funding shortfall.

In order to manage the shortfall in the short term, all capital and reform bids have been approved to proceed in 2023-24 but the actual pace of delivery is restricted within the funding available. This is not a sustainable position as we are simply pushing cumulative under-funding into future years. We are already seeing significant spend in the first four months of the current financial year, indicating that capital spend may have to be slowed or stopped as part of the Quarter 2 financial review.

Unless funding is increased, capital allocations will continue to be over-committed ultimately leading to sustainability issues, as noted above, and the risk that projects and programmes cannot be completed within the funding available. As a result, the organisation will be unable to make the investment required to meet the objectives of the Joint Strategy for Policing, and will restrict the ability to deliver against organisational strategies: such as estates, fleet and digital.

The risks of underfunding are detailed below:

• The current level of funding is not sufficient to maintain the existing size of the estate - as an organisation we have prioritised meeting health and safety requirements and basic repairs but as a result buildings continue to deteriorate.
• The ability to deliver estates transformation and co-location projects will be
  significantly reduced.
• Any reduction in the fleet would have a significant impact in terms of increasing the average age and would result in increased repairs and maintenance costs within the revenue budget – est. additional revenue cost of £0.1m per annum for every £1.0m reduction in capital.
• The roll out of ULEVs will stall at ~40% of the overall fleet as a lower level of funding would be insufficient to purchase the level of charging infrastructure required to support a fully electric fleet.
• The organisation would continue to invest only in diesel vehicles which does not meet the requirements of the Fleet Strategy and has both environmental and financial implications.
• Without continued, focussed investment in ICT infrastructure and future
  technology, the ability to support all other enabling strategies diminish and there is a real and credible risk that as a national police service, we will not have the tools and technologies to quickly adapt to the changing nature of crime.
• This comes with significant operational impacts around replacing ageing and obsolete systems, inability to deliver new capabilities that support operational policing and increase risk of cyber attacks with resultant impacts on public trust and confidence.
• In addition, key refresh programmes such as airwave would be delayed and would have a direct link to officer safety.

Reform of Police Scotland will continue to focus on developing organisational
capability such as Body Worn Video, essential improvements in critical national
infrastructure such as 999/101 service centres and technology related to combating cyber crime - but also in ensuring that the organisation is as fit for purpose, efficient and effective as possible while living within the funding available, i.e. through investment in digital capability, the roll out of Enabling Policing for the Future (EPF) and the wider roll-out of the Strategic Efficiency Redesign and Reinvestment Review (SERR).

Significant and urgent service re-design programmes are all in progress, focusing on modernising contact and engagement with communities, delivering effective local policing, public protection, policing in a digital world, and protecting vulnerable people (including our response to mental health demands and needs). All of these programmes seek to address the changing and growing needs of communities, alongside introducing the necessary reforms to enhance efficiencies as potentially resources and the workforce continue to reduce in future years. Without adequate transitional investment, these programmes cannot progress at the required pace, and could lead to further impacts on services within communities.

Similar to capital, transformational requirements are significantly higher than the £20m funding available each year. As a result of current funding levels, some urgent and necessary transformation activity may have to be slowed, if not stopped in some areas.

Capabilities such as Body Worn Video, critical improvements in our Contact,
Command and Control platforms, further development of our mobile platforms and Core Operating Solution are all at risk with reduced funding levels alongside the service design and efficiency focused work.

Continued investment and transformation in our fleet and estates workstreams would either be slowed or have to be deprioritised.