Tayside Police considering redundancy policy
Tayside Police is looking at a redundancy policy for the first time but there are no plans for compulsory job losses.
- By Graeme Ogston
- Published in the Courier : 10.07.10
- Published online : 10.07.10 @ 10.21am
Chief Constable Justine Curran said Tayside Police does not have a redundancy policy and no provision exists to even offer voluntary redundancy for staff.
She said, "We are currently in the process of looking at a redundancy policy, which will have to go through a process of consultation that will need to go to the board.
"We can't enact anything until we have gone through that," she added.
"It is extremely important to stress that the fact that we are looking at a redundancy policy underlines the fact that we are taking the necessary steps to assess a whole range of options that require to be considered as a result of budgetary reductions.
"There are no plans for compulsory redundancy at this time."
The force is bracing itself against next year's cuts to budgets in the public sector.
The Scottish Government has confirmed that budgets for this year will not be affected, and the Comprehensive Spending Review will be announced in the autumn.
Efficiency
Tayside Police has set up a project called Transforming Tayside to put a plan in place for the next three years on how it will manage its reduced budget.
The project has three main strands: looking at efficiency savings, a review of the organisational structure, and a best value review of civilian staff.
The chief constable said work on the project was progressing well.
Ms Curran said, "Obviously, it's a small team because we can't afford to invest huge amounts in it.
"We know there are going to be budget reductions and that could vary, depending on who you listen to, from a relatively conservative 12% over three or four years, up to 25% over four years, so there's a bit of unknown over there at the moment.
"Their job is to look at what it is we're trying to achieve, which is always keeping communities at the heart of what we do and what our priorities are.
"Their job is to come up with a bunch of options, so when we come up to the cuts and budget setting time, we need to translate that into a budget for next year and the year after.
"I'd love to be in the position to say nobody should have any worries, but I can't dodge this.
Downturn
"I can't wave a wand and say Tayside is not going to be affected by this huge public sector downturn, but we are doing everything we can to make sure our people outside in communities and inside are really central to everything we do."
It is feared the civilian staff could bear the brunt of any cuts, with Holyrood likely to be keen to ensure frontline officers numbers are maintained.
Consultation is already under way with trade unions and staff associations, with initial discussions described by the force as "very positive."
Union bosses are working to ensure that civilian posts are not unfairly targeted.
Ms Curran said, "People are right at the middle of this-the people of Tayside and how we're able to deliver a service and obviously the people who work here every day to deliver a service to these people.
"It's really difficult when you're in the middle, trying to think how are we going to do the best by all of those people.
"What we need to do is to say, how can we do that?
"With police officers' terms and conditions, you can't make a police officer redundant.
"If there are very severe cuts very quickly, 87% of our budget is people, so if we need to try to reduce significantly then unfortunately we can be into looking at people."
Initial proposals are expected to be put before councillors on the Tayside Joint Police Board in the autumn and a public consultation will be carried out.
Ms Curran said, "I don't want people out there in communities worrying that they are going to ring the police and they're not going to get a service. That will never happen. If people ring us they will always get a service.
"The whole thing is hugely challenging. If you are running your house and someone says that you suddenly have to do it with so much less, you would probably say, 'There is not a huge amount of stuff I do that I don't think I need to do.'
"Frontline services and that visible presence in communities, responding to their needs is at the heart of everything we try to do here."
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