Chamber and committees

This Government is committed to shifting the emphasis from ineffective short-term imprisonment to greater use of robust community sentences, with the aim of reducing reoffending. Our move towards more community sentencing, including the introduction of Community Payback Orders (CPOs), has helped bring Scotland’s reconviction rates to an 18-year low.

The presumption against short prison sentences is not a ban and sentencers retain the discretion to pass the most appropriate sentence based on the facts and circumstances of the case. Therefore it is not possible to give an exact assessment of the impact that the extended presumption will have on the numbers of CPOs, although the expectation is that numbers will increase.

Fiscal work orders are a direct measure available to procurators fiscal as opposed to a sentence passed by a court and so are not impacted by the presumption against short prison sentences.

The nature of the unpaid work placements carried out under the Fiscal Work Order (FWO) and Community Payback Order (CPO) schemes is determined by the local authority Criminal Justice Social Work team responsible for overseeing the case.

However, both the National Guidelines on Fiscal Work Orders and the Community Payback Order practice guidance advise that unpaid work placements should not be used in situations which are likely to deprive others of opportunities for paid employment.

Responsibility for the financial management of NHS Tayside’s business remains with the Accountable Officer. The discharge of these responsibilities is underpinned by existing systems of internal control within Scottish Government and by internal and external audit processes covering all NHS Boards.

Scottish Government has instigated an independent review of the allocation and transfer of eHealth funds to NHS Tayside and will take any appropriate action indicated by the findings of that review.

Scottish Government officials continue to work closely with NHS Tayside on the implementation of its Transformation Plan, focusing on returning the Board to financial sustainability.

The NHS Tayside Board will take a decision on the Director of Finance role later this month. In the meantime, NHS Tayside has taken a number of interim measures to provide cover for Director of Finance responsibilities:

1. The Director of Finance for NHS Grampian is providing professional advice and support to the Board in his capacity as Regional Finance Director for the North of Scotland Health Boards.

2. There has been a realignment of roles and responsibilities within the NHS Tayside Financial Team.

The Scottish Government is committed to providing regular reports to Parliament on the status of the programme. The approach to scrutiny of those reports is a matter for the Parliament.

Under the auspices of the Joint Programme Board (JPB), Police Scotland and BTPA have established a joint project to deliver the operational aspects of the programme. On 20 February, the JPB was advised that further time is needed to deliver integration most effectively and safely for railway passengers, staff and officers. Their assessment is that the current scheduled integration date of 

‎ 1 April 2019 will not be achieved. Ministers have accepted this advice and a detailed re-planning exercise will now take place over the coming months to ensure robust delivery plans are in place for all of the key elements of the programme, including ICT, and to establish a new delivery date. Resourcing will also feature as part of the re-planning exercise.

Further to the meeting of the Joint Programme Board on 20 February a detailed re-planning exercise is now underway to ensure robust delivery plans are in place for all of the key elements of the programme and to establish a new delivery date. Resourcing will also feature as part of the re-planning exercise. Transitional costs for the Authority and Police Scotland are being funded from the police reform budget and will not be an additional burden on the operational policing budget or rail operators.

The British Transport Police pension schemes are shared cost schemes where members pay 40% of the required contributions and employers pay 60%. The Scottish Police Authority as the sponsoring employer will therefore be legally responsible for any employer liability under these arrangements. Work is ongoing to develop the preferred option for transferring BTP staff and officers in line with Scottish Ministers’ aim of no detriment to their pension provisions with funding of the scheme being considered as part of this position.

The rate of employer contributions payable by the Scottish Police Authority for the transferred officers and staff at the point of transfer has still to be agreed. The employer contribution rate payable by the Scottish Police Authority will be determined following regular valuations of the Fund.

There has been no announcement by the Scottish Government or the Joint Programme Board that a new pension fund for retired BTP officers will be established on the integration of the BTP in Scotland into Police Scotland.

The Joint Programme Board has agreed that, subject to the approval of the British Transport Police Force Superannuation Fund (BTPFSF) Trustee, that existing officers and staff should continue to have access to their current pension scheme on transfer. The Scottish Government have sent a pension proposal to the Trustee and we expect to publish that letter soon. Retired officers will continue to have access to their existing benefits from the same pension scheme. The Scottish Government will refer to pension and actuarial experts to ensure the arrangements are fair for officers, staff and the Scottish taxpayer.

BTP officers and staff who are serving, deferred and retired BTPFSF scheme members will be in the same scheme, with the same pension benefits, with the same Trustee continuing to deliver effective management of the funds.

The cost of railway policing pensions is a key consideration for the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government aims to ensure that public sector pensions are affordable, sustainable and fair. Doing so will ensure that railway policing officers and staff in Scotland remain well-skilled and well-motivated as they deliver an essential service across Scotland.

Pension costs already form part of the costs allocated to the railway industry under the BTP Authority Police Service Agreement model and will continue to do so in Scotland under Railway Policing Agreements by the Scottish Police Authority.