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Criminal Justice Committee 04 March 2026 [Draft]

04 Mar 2026 · S6 · Criminal Justice Committee

Item of business

Budget 2026-27 and Scottish Spending Review

Chief Constable Jo Farrell (Police Scotland) Watch on SPTV

Good morning, and thank you for the invitation to provide some reflections on the budget and the spending review. Throughout our evidence to inform the committee’s pre-budget scrutiny, we have been clear about the pressures on policing. I also recognise the acute pressures on public finances.There is recognition and consensus, in the Parliament and in the Government’s reform strategy, of the reform that has been achieved by policing, which has included significant workforce reductions. I am grateful for the committee’s explicit call for achievements to be reinvested.The budget was outlined in January. Notwithstanding the fact that the allocation was less than requested, I have made difficult decisions that prioritised front-line services for our communities to ensure that we can maintain officer numbers at 16,500 in the coming year.I recognise the difficult choices that are faced across the public sector. I believe that the Scottish Government’s support is welcome recognition of the reform that has already been achieved by Police Scotland. Our recent best-value audit highlighted our clear vision of safer communities, less crime, supported victims and a thriving workforce, as well as policing’s hard-won track record of strong financial management and a commitment to collaboration.Policing has demonstrated value to communities and to the public purse. The spending review, however, highlights the scale of the challenge for the public finances moving forward. Pressures on policing and other areas are driven by unmet mental health need, a strained criminal justice system, growing online harms, poverty, civil unrest, geopolitics and a heightened assessment of counter-state and terrorist threats, as well as an increasing demand to service public inquiries.I underline my commitment to continue to maximise capacity from the resources available through strategic planning and supporting more people back to work. We will continue to drive improvements and efficiencies to cut out bureaucracy and to automate and rationalise processes in the middle and back-office functions so as to focus every possible resource on our front line.I am leading a cultural shift that is prepared to carry a greater risk appetite and that draws clearer lines with ourselves and our partners about where policing starts and where it must finish. I will work with the Scottish Government and across the public sector to ensure that policing continues to be a good partner and that we are in good partnerships.The potential for further savings must continue to be set against the threat, risk and harm that I have outlined and the service that our communities need, deserve and expect, with an understanding of the pressure on officers and staff. My focus will be on keeping people safe, giving victims of crime a professional, trauma-informed service and supporting our front line relentlessly. We can all support a whole-system prevention approach that delivers better outcomes and value and that reduces the demand that is placed on policing and the criminal justice system.Police Scotland will continue to play its part in striving to meet those ambitions, while we do our level best to respond to the existing need, demand and risk in our communities, online and across borders.

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Criminal Justice Committee 04 March 2026 [Draft]

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