Justice Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Official Report 859KB pdf

Justice Sub-Committee on Policing (Report Back)

Agenda item 7 is feedback from the meeting of the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing on 4 October 2018. Following the verbal report back, there will be an opportunity for brief comments or questions. I refer members to paper 7, which is a note by the clerk and invite John Finnie to provide feedback.

Thank you, convener. As you say, the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing met on 4 October, when we took pre-budget evidence on Police Scotland’s digital data and information and communication technology strategy, ahead of the Scottish Government’s publication of its draft budget. We heard from senior officials from Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority.

We heard that lessons had been learned from the failed i6 project and that measures had been taken to avoid problems being repeated. Primarily, there will be an incremental approach to implementation, with technology selected that has been tested and used elsewhere, rather than the whole-scale innovation that was associated with i6. We also heard about the issue’s importance. As we heard earlier today, the ICT strategy will require £298 million in funding from the Scottish Government, and a standstill budget will have implications.

We were also told that the capital budget for Police Scotland is insufficient to meet its needs, and considered the impact on policing of the reduction in police support staff and the proposal to reduce police officer numbers by 300 from 2019-20.

The sub-committee will next meet on 25 October. I am happy to take any questions, convener.

As members have no questions, I simply note that it was a useful meeting. It emphasised the effectiveness of the pre-budget scrutiny process—it was a welcome introduction.

That concludes the public part of today’s meeting. Our next meeting will be on 30 October 2018, when we will continue with our post-legislative scrutiny of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012.