Convener Margaret Mitchell asks about the proposal that integration costs come from the police reform budget.

Calum Steele from the Scottish Police Federation says in general the parliament has not provided police services with enough funding.

He says that the removal or additional burden of funding for integration must be addressed.

Labour MSP Daniel Johnson asks about the internal costs of the merger process.

Tom McMahon confirms this is being revisited as part of the re-plan.

Tory MSP Liam Kerr asks who ultimately pays the transition costs?

Police Scotland's director of business integration Tom McMahon says the amounts detailed so far are being paid by Police Scotland apart from shared costs with BTPA.

Mr Kerr goes on to asks about the cost of the indemnification on future liabilities from the Scottish government over the pension scheme.

Mr McMahon says the numbers in the public domain are the worst case scenario, the spectrum of costs goes up to the most dramatic number of £100.

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Mr Kerr says to be clear the SPA could be seeking an indemnification of about £100m from the Scottish government.

Well on an absolute worst case scenario, based on actuarial advice that's been provided, Mr McMahon states.

Again I would emphasise that is estimated and it is highly dependent on market circumstances, he asserts.

The issue of pensions is germane to the status of officers who will transfer to Police Scotland, Calum Steele of the Scottish Police Federation says.

He urges stakeholders to "look at the human side" during the pause.

British Transport Police officers must be given clarity Mr Steele emphasises.

SNP MSP Ben Macpherson moves the conversation to the terms and conditions of officers, particularly over a new pension scheme.

BTP Federation chair Nigel Goodband says he is not sure what the proposal is suggesting.

No new members from Police Scotland's transport division will be able to join the closed scheme he says.

"The members do not want to transfer into a closed, segregated scheme because that pot will be weakened in comparison to the main pot," he says.

There are also questions over officers whose service was in England but retired in Scotland and vice versa.

"Is it lawful to do that? And who had actually agreed to £99m worth of assets?" Mr Goodman asks.

Mr Goodman says officers have not be consulted with on the pensions scheme and there has been no engagement on terms and conditions.

Image source, HMICS

A report from Scotland's Police watchdog says no authoritative business case was made for the merger of British Transport Police and Police Scotland.

The decision was made by ministers, meaning the benefits, disadvantages and costs were not explained.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary's overview of BTP says a detailed study of the risks should be undertaken.

The functions of BTP are due to be absorbed into the national force on 1 April 2019.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, Derek Penman, suggested this study be carried out by the Joint Programme Board (JPB) which has been set up to manage the transfer.

He said the JPB also needs to look at the costs of the merger as there is uncertainty among stakeholders as to where the responsibility for them lies.

Read more here.

I am confident we have the ability to create a transport policing division out of D-vision, says Tom McMahon of Police Scotland.

Laboour MSP Daniel Johnson expresses concern about Police Scotland's ability to do this given problems relating to the integration of the regional police forces.

Mr Goodband says on average there is an increase from 13 police officers leaving BTP Scotland to 21.

Police Scotland's director of business integration Tom McMahon says the working relationships with BTP colleagues is very positive.

The replan was a joint conclusion, Mr McMahon says.

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British Transport Police Chief Constable Paul Crowther says he will be responsible for the policing of railways in Scotland until the chief constable of Scotland takes over.

The chief constable says there are challenges ahead.

Chief Constable Paul Crowther says BTP was concerned about the command and control structures.

Police Scotland's IT systems do not enable national recording of incidents so it was expected BTP would provide this, he explains.

But it was a concern that vulnerable victims would be missed, as well as causing difficulties in communicating information to train drivers, the chief constable says.

Mr Crowther concludes that until Police Scotland has the appropriate IT systems to provide a national command and response, it would be unsafe to proceed.

Police Scotland's Tom McMahon says more time and effort was needed, with proper programme management.

None of the issues are insurmountable, he suggests, but more time and resources are required.

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Labour MSP Daniel Johnson seeks more information on safety concerns leading to the delay of the merger between the BTP in Scotland and Police Scotland.

British Transport Police Federation chairman Nigel Goodband says there was a fear a number of officers would leave if they had to leave the BTP to join Police Scotland, due to concerns about pensions.

These officers are already leaving, the BTPF representative says.

Mr Goodband says 20 officers have left in the last eight months, with 70% citing the merger as the reason for them leaving.

He says without the expertise and experience of these officers there could potentially be problems with public safety.

One misunderstanding could lead to a fatality and one fatality is one too many, Mr Goodband concludes.

SNP MSP Mairi Gougeon says the parliament has agreed a position and more time must be spent on ironing out apparent issues.

Mr Goodband says effective and safe integration cannot be achieved by April 2019.

He emphasises that he is not suggesting a move away from integration but rather consideration of other options.

British Transport Police Federation national chairman Nigel Goodband says the UK government is not looking at work towards introducing infrastructure policing.

Mr Goodband says "it was quite alarming" to hear Mr Matheson say in the parliament that it was the UK government's intention to abolish BTP.

"There was never a proposal to abolish BTP," he says.

BTP Chief Constable Paul Crowther says it is a matter for the Scottish government to decide how devolution is carried out.

Police Scotland's Tom McMahon and Scottish Police Federation Calum Steele echo this, saying their organisations will respect the will of the parliament.

In February we reported that the controversial merger of British Transport Police with Police Scotland would be be delayed.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson described the longer timetable beyond April 2019 as "disappointing".

But he said it would allow more time to engage with the Transport Police Federation on issues like pay and conditions.

The Conservatives had already called for the move to be be put on hold.

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The functions of BTP were due to be absorbed into the national force on 1 April 2019. The government said a new merger date was still to be confirmed.

Police Scotland said it had become clear the existing merger deadline could not be met "without compromising public safety".

The Scottish government has long wanted to integrate the service into Police Scotland, seeing it as the most "efficient and effective" way of delivering policing across the country.

The Railway Policing (Scotland) Bill, external confers extra policing powers on the Scottish Police Authority and the Police Service of Scotland, but further legislation would be needed at Holyrood and Westminster to transfer staff, properties and cross-border policing functions.

Read more here.

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Committe convener Margaret Mitchell asks if the panelists think that there should be a commissioned service for the integrated service, and generally a rethink.

British Transport Police Federation, external national chairman Nigel Goodband says the welcome pause is the right time to look at any alternatives.

Mr Goodband says the commissioned service model should be looked at.

He says the BTPF stance is not against devolution but that integration of the BTP in Scotland into Police Scotland is not the way to do this.

Committee convener Margaret Mitchell welcomes the first panel and thanks them for their written submissions.