Chamber and committees

I understand that there will be fluctuation in the number of officers and civilian staff that you need, because someone who has digital expertise and is looking at cybercrime would not necessarily be on the front line. I understand that the figures change, but I want to make sure that there would be enough officers on the front line. When I am out and about, speaking to the public, I often hear about who have to stay on the line for half an hour or an hour on 101 calls and not getting a response on 999 calls. The submission says that some crime statistics are falling or are staying the same, but an awful lot of reporting says that crimes are not being reported in the first place, because people do not have the time to sit on a 101 call or a 999 call and then not get a response.

There is an increase in antisocial behaviour. I spoke to retailers last week and heard of one case in which a shoplifter threatened to stab a retailer with a needle, and, when the retailer phoned 999, they got no response. Of course, they then see huge media publicity around somebody who is being charged with breaking an umbrella. Is there enough funding for you to be able to go and sort out those problems? Will you be able to put in place enough officers and civilian staff to fix the situation so that we do not have recurring issues with the public?

If you do not get the full amount for the implementation of legislation, what will the impacts be?

What will the implications be if you do not get the full budget settlement for that?

Given the issues that police currently have in trying to arrest or charge somebody, can we work with the bill as drafted, or do we need something totally different? Could we make amendments to the bill that would help the police to be able to arrest and charge people who are causing harm to women and girls?

If you could send us any other figures, that would be helpful. However, as things stand just now, do you think that the figures in the financial memorandum will rise?

Your submission states:

“Police Scotland recognise that we have sound legislation in place to be able to challenge demand for ‘on street’ prostitution”

and that there is

“appropriate legislation”

to address situations where trafficking is apparent. That suggests that we need to strengthen the legislation regarding off-street prostitution. However, the submission says that Police Scotland is fully supportive of the bill’s proposal to repeal section 46 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

Everybody talks about the need for tools in their toolbox, but would repealing that section not remove some tools, causing you issues?

So, you are fine with that.

My final question is for all three witnesses. Can you estimate the scale of any costs for your organisations arising from the bill, and are they adequately represented in the financial memorandum?

I ask Dr Forbes to respond first, as she said that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service had not been consulted in advance of the preparation of the financial memorandum.

Good morning. Following on from Liam Kerr’s line of questioning, the written submission says that you require £113.4 million in additional funding for 2026-27, which will go towards funding 850 officers and 348 staff. How have you concluded that those are the numbers of new officers and staff that are required for the workforce? Will that funding be sufficient to meet the front-line demand?

I will move on. In your written submission, you state that the costs of new legislation

“have not always been accurately described or illustrated in previous pre-budget evidence submissions.”

You also note that it is estimated that dealing with new legislation will have

“a financial impact of £4.5m on policing for financial year 2026-27”,

which will rise to

“£22.9m by 2028-29.”

That is a huge difference.

Are you satisfied that the costs of new legislation, including the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025, will be covered by the Scottish Government? If the funding is not received, what will the impact be?

I also want to ask for an update on the work that is being done on forensic services and the potential future impact on revenue and capital budget requirements. Your submission says:

“Forensic Services are being delivered at a cost of £47.4 million in the current 2025-26 financial year. This represents 3.2% of overall policing budget and ... we don’t expect this percentage to significantly change in the year ahead.”

We have a big drug problem and there has been an increase in drug driving. In the submission, you mention that public confidence is declining. There seems to be a correlation between that and the fact that there are far fewer road traffic officers. The increase in drug driving might be a result of not having enough toxicology checks. There has also been an increase in accidents. Are you confident that the budget increase that Police Scotland has requested will allow more road traffic officers to go out? Do you have enough money for forensic services?