Police Scotland faces £25m budget overspend

Police Scotland is facing a £25m budget overspend by the end of the financial year, official figures have revealed.

The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) heard on Tuesday the deficit was £14m more than predicted.

The force, with an annual budget of £1.1bn, said it was working with the government on "potential options for managing the financial position".

Revised figures included £11.3m of identified savings which had "not been deliverable in the current year".

SPA director of financial services, Janet Murray, told a meeting of the board they were "considering all options" to save money.

A spokesman for the authority added: "The financial update scrutinised by the SPA today highlights a projected overspend of £25m for the current financial year. It was explained that this is directly linked to a number of anticipated savings not being realised as planned and therefore are unlikely to be achieved in 2015/16.

"Members sought assurances from Police Scotland that everything possible was being done to mitigate against any overspend. The board also requested an update on current budget planning in the coming weeks as well as sight of the longer-term financial plan by the end of the year."

'Force in crisis'

Deputy Chief Constable Neil Richardson, of Police Scotland, said the current financial year had been "the most challenging for us".

He added: "We continue to work with the SPA to identify savings on top of those already achieved across the entire cost base of policing and continue to liaise with Scottish government on this issue.

"Our commitment to delivering effective and responsive policing to our communities is our priority, against a backdrop of having already achieved savings which are the equivalent of three legacy forces.

"Savings achieved in 2015-2016 will bring that amount to the equivalent of the budgets of four legacy forces. We remain on track to deliver savings to the public purse of £1.1bn by 2026."

The Scottish government said "strong progress" had been made towards the police reform savings target.

A spokesman added: "In previous years, Police Scotland and the SPA have successfully worked together to identify further savings and close any notional gaps, and savings targets were met in the first two years of reform.

"We will continue to work closely with both organisations to ensure policing in Scotland continues to perform effectively and efficiently."

Scottish Conservative justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell said the "damning" report "confirms the crisis within Police Scotland".

'Serious concerns'

She added: "It dispels any notion that a single police force was going to result in significant savings. This was one of the SNP majority government's main reasons for arguing in favour of a single force.

"The Scottish Conservatives consistently called for a full business case to be published. The folly of the SNP's refusal to do so is now evident.

"Once again, rank and file officers who have such a difficult job to do are being undermined by the incompetence of the SNP government."

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman Alison McInnes said "serious concerns" were raised at the time of the creation of the single force regarding Police Scotland's ability to make projected savings.

She added: "SNP ministers have always insisted that Police Scotland's finances were on track despite evidence to the contrary."