Meeting of the Parliament 26 February 2020
A very good deal was put forward in the budget and it was increased today. Liam Kerr came to the chamber with a pre-prepared speech—he admitted that he got that information 14 minutes before he spoke. He has no answer to the fact that there is £10 million more in the budget than the Tories asked for as a minimum. They keep saying that that is a minimum. I hope that Mr Kerr and his party will support the budget.
Despite the austerity that has been imposed on us, which has led to our resource budget from the UK Government for 2020-21 being around 2.8 per cent lower than it was in 2010, policing services in Scotland have been maintained and improved.
As Rona Mackay rightly said, there has been an increase of 1,025 police officers from the position that was inherited in 2007. That contrasts with cuts of up to 20,000 officers in England and Wales. Even in a scenario in which forces in England and Wales replace the officers who have been cut, there would be around 24 officers per 10,000 of population, which is still well below the rate in Scotland of 32 officers per 10,000 of population.
Our commitment is supported by the decision of the Government in the draft budget to invest £60 million in Police Scotland’s annual budget. More than £9 billion has been invested in policing since 2013, and Police Scotland’s budget has been increased in every one of the past five years, which clearly shows the Scottish Government’s position on the matter.
The Conservatives may like to make out that the Scottish Government underfunds the police, but as others have said, that does not reflect the facts.