Force budget problem: No crisis but `challenging` situation, says SPA chair
Police Scotland has still not integrated any of its back office functions almost four years after it was meant to make policing more efficient, the head of its oversight board has admitted.
Police Scotland has still not integrated any of its back office functions almost four years after it was meant to make policing more efficient, the head of its oversight board has admitted.
John Foley, chief executive officer of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), said the force was still using 17 or 18 different payroll systems, despite the merger of the eight regional entities in 2013.
And Scottish MSPs were told that the forces use of officers to perform backroom duties after thousands of police staff were let go was a false economy.
Mr Foley also found himself having to defend the SPA, which holds Scotland`s single force to account, for paying an accountant £950 a day since June in an attempt to get to grips with runaway £1.1 billion budget.
He said its interim chief financial officer, on secondment from the private firm PwC, was rewarded for his appropriate skills. He added that he had trawled the public sector for an alternative but there was no availability.
SPA chair Mr Andrew Flanagan flatly denied the force is “in crisis”, before admitting it faced a “clearly challenging” situation.
Auditor General for Scotland Caroline Gardner, who has issued three annual reports criticising the forces weak financial management, recently warned it faced a £188 million deficit by 2020/21.
She said there substantial issues that needed to be addressed.
Taking evidence from the SPA and Chief Constable Phil Gormley in light of the warnings, Holyroods Public Audit Committee heard on Thursday (March 2) that the failure to streamline the legacy systems of the eight former forces had contributed to the financial problems.
MSP Colin Beattie asked if there was “any actual back office function that has been successfully integrated since the police merger?”
Mr Foley said: “In terms of a function being completely integrated, in my view, no they haven`t.”
He denied it was an “act of desperation” to bring in a £950-a-day accountant when the forces own budget was under such strain, adding: We`re getting good value from the point of view that we need to have someone who is experienced and knows what they`re doing.
“The risk of not having that is much greater.
We`re not pretending that the finance function is anything other than in a difficult place and so we need to have someone with the appropriate skills and experience to lead that.”
He said the force was recruiting a permanent chief financial officer, who should start next month.
Mr Flanagan insisted the force was now “on the right path”, and referred to this weeks publication of a ten-year strategy, which set out plans to slow officer recruitment.
Police Scotland deputy chief officer David Page also admitted the forces use of officers to perform backroom duties after thousands of civilian staff were let go was a false economy.
Asked whether the financial situation was a threat to policing in Scotland, Mr Gormley said: I think we`ve got a plan to deal with it. I think it`s a challenge, of course it is and if we don`t deliver on the plan then it will start to impact on our operational capability, but I`m completely confident we`ll meet that challenge.”
Committee convener Jenny Marra said such financial and leadership failures are unacceptable almost four years on from the establishment of Police Scotland.
The SPA and Police Scotland have accepted it is vital their transformation plan finally deals with long-standing weaknesses around financial planning, leadership and transparency. Their efforts to reduce a projected £188 million funding gap must not affect public safety in any way.