Backing for Tayside Police chief's approach to cuts
Members of Tayside Joint Police Board have pledged to back Chief Constable Justine Curran in her efforts to meet the "unprecedented" funding cuts the force is facing.
- By Richard Burdge
- Published in the Courier : 24.08.10
- Published online : 24.08.10 @ 01.42pm
At the meeting in Perth, she outlined the measures being considered but admitted it was like "planning with a blindfold on" until the scale of any funding reduction is clarified by the Scottish Government towards the end of November.
In anticipation of the likely level of cuts a freeze on officer recruitment after the July intake of probationers has been put in place, and other measures are being considered.
"The unprecedented funding measures facing the public sector have been well publicised and the period of austerity is likely to last for a number of years," she told the meeting in the council chambers.
"It is unlikely that any aspect of the public sector will be completely immune from budget cuts and there is no indication at this stage that police will be protected."
The chief constable said there had been a great deal of speculation about the size of cuts to be imposed, ranging from 12% cuts over three years to 25% over four years if health is protected.
"Even the lowest level of cuts referred to would be difficult for Tayside Police to sustain without some impact on operational and service delivery while higher cuts have the potential to substantially impact on the service delivered by the force," she conceded.
"It is imperative therefore that action is taken now to identify savings, attempt to mitigate the impact of the budget cuts on service delivery for as long as possible but ultimately transition the force to operate at a reduced level of funding."
As staff costs accounted for approximately 86% of the force revenue budget, the chief constable said it was "highly unlikely that the force can meet even the lower level of projected cuts without some impact on service delivery and a reduction in staff numbers."
She said that to meet the challenge Tayside Police had set up a team looking at where cost savings could be made, including working closely with other forces and services. Staff organisations and unions were involved with the review.
Councillor Alexander Stewart said it was a stark situation and potentially unpalatable decisions, including redundancies, would have to be made.
He described the situation as "horrendous" and supported all efforts of collaboration to cut costs.
Councillor Ken Lyall said they had to look at everything including terms and conditions, which would not be popular with the unions.
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