Hansard

I welcome this early opportunity to update Parliament following the publication today of “Independent Assurance Review Police Scotland—Call Handling Final Report”, which I directed Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary in Scotland to undertake three months ago.

I start by once again offering sincere condolences to the families of John Yuill and Lamara Bell for the tragic loss that they have suffered.

I have previously highlighted my belief that the foundations of policing are strong. That is reinforced by the latest statistics, which show that recorded crime is at a 41-year low, supported by the 1,000 extra officers that this Government has delivered. Of course, the credit goes to the hard-working officers and staff across Scotland who regularly put themselves in situations that many of us would not put ourselves in.

However, there is more to be done, which is why the programme for government set out a series of measures to strengthen policing. In September, I held a summit to support further development of local scrutiny, and more than 80 stakeholders attended. The chair of the Scottish Police Authority has already begun his review of police governance, which is on track to report in March 2016. We will shortly embark on a refresh of the strategic police priorities, giving communities the chance to have their say. In addition, the process to appoint a new chief constable is well advanced, and the chair of the Scottish Police Authority has set out a clear expectation that the new chief will put a strong focus on addressing issues that were highlighted in the recent staff survey.

I want to spend my time today focusing on the HMICS report that was published this morning. I thank Her Majesty’s inspector, Derek Penman, and his staff for their work. This comprehensive piece of work has involved more engagement than any previous HMICS review, and included a public online questionnaire, an audit of calls and more than 85 interviews and 34 group discussions with police officers and staff.

Police Scotland contact, command and control centres manage 500,000 999 calls and 3.24 million 101 calls a year. The HMICS report provides a number of welcome assurances. Staff levels are now stabilised at Bilston Glen, Motherwell and Govan, and staff are committed to providing a good service to the public. Grading, prioritisation and dispatch of officers work well for emergency and high-priority calls. Risk and vulnerability assessment is also strong within the area control room environment. New training is now in place for all new staff, and the interim information and communications technology solution that is in place is fit for purpose.

The report contains 30 recommendations: Police Scotland has assured me that it will implement all of them. The report confirms that significant progress has already been made, but gives the SPA and Police Scotland clear direction on where further improvements are needed. Those areas include programme management and governance, staff communication, training, technology and quality assurance. I will deal with each of those in turn.

First, the report contains a series of criticisms of the programme management and governance that were in place around the restructuring programme. Although performance is now stabilised, it is essential that those issues be addressed before the remaining phases of the change programme are progressed. I have discussed that with Andrew Flanagan, the chair of the SPA, and with Police Scotland, and they have confirmed that independent experts will be brought in to provide strong assurances before any decision is made on implementation of proposed changes to the Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness centres. They have further confirmed that Police Scotland will establish a reference group of senior independent change and call-handling professionals who will provide on-going oversight and advice as the restructuring process progresses.

The report also highlights concern about how staff expertise was captured in designing the change, and it echoes findings from the Police Scotland staff survey around communication and engagement. I have made clear to Police Scotland my expectations in respect of that recommendation, and my strong conviction that investment in staff is as important as—if not more important than—investment in systems. To address that, Police Scotland has confirmed that it will establish a programme that is dedicated to shaping the future of C3, which will support clear and transparent engagement with all affected staff from here on. I am encouraged that Police Scotland has now put in place a training programme for all new entrants, which will improve consistency across the country.

On technology, the report concludes that the interim solution is generally fit for purpose, but that poor reliability and the ability to bypass certain aspects of the system pose risks. Police Scotland plans to invest £15 million in a new information technology solution, which will be a major step forward and will, I am assured, be subject to the stronger programme management approach that is now in place. I have also been assured that Police Scotland has already put in place new processes to monitor compliance with procedures.

The need to ensure strong quality assurance is the final theme that I will touch on. Since April, the SPA has continued to monitor performance on a weekly basis. In the future, any dip in performance such as was experienced in Bilston Glen earlier this year will become quickly apparent and will trigger rapid intervention. The report confirms that a regional approach to call handling can deliver an effective service for communities across Scotland. The overall direction of the programme therefore remains fit for purpose, but management of the change programme must be strengthened.

Although I welcome the assurances that are provided by the HMICS report on quality of customer service, call handling and grading, I want to ensure that those standards are maintained and that Police Scotland delivers the required improvements. I have therefore asked HMICS to undertake a further programme of unannounced visits to call centres across the country. That programme will begin with immediate effect and will continue until the restructuring is complete. I have requested that the outcome of those visits be reported back to Police Scotland, the SPA and me, with any actions that need to be taken being clearly identified.

The report acknowledges that the Scottish Government acted swiftly on the recommendation in the interim report by making £1.4 million of new money available. That has already supported an active recruitment campaign in the north, which has attracted significant interest. The new money is also being used to deliver improved system reliability.

I will close by stressing once again this Government’s commitment to ensuring that the public can have confidence in police contact, command and control functions. That is why I directed HMICS to undertake a review, and it is why I sought the earliest opportunity to update Parliament on its final report. The report includes some hard messages for Police Scotland, and I have been assured that all 30 recommendations will be accepted and actioned by it. The report provides confidence that staffing levels have stabilised in the east and west and that calls are being answered and actioned. New training is in place for all new staff, and recruitment to support the next stages of restructuring in the north is actively under way.

HMICS has provided assurance about the capability of the regional model, and both the SPA and Police Scotland will ensure that independent checks are in place to monitor contact, command and control centres from now on and to oversee the next stages of the restructuring.

As I said in September, there are challenges, but the fundamentals of our police service are sound. The actions that I have set out today will build on those fundamentals to deliver a stronger service. Be assured that this Government will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen policing in Scotland even further.