Police Savings Report Cites Merger

Cash-strapped Chief Constables in England and Wales are looking at the merger of eight police forces north of the border as a possible solution to their funding crises, according to Scotland's Justice Secretary.

A growing number of police chiefs are saying that the existing structure of 43 forces in England and Wales is unsustainable, Michael Matheson told Holyrood's Justice Sub-Committee on Policing.

The National Audit Office (NAO) today urged forces to find radical'' solutions to meet the savings targets required.

It cited the formation of Scotland's national police force in 2013 as a radical transformation'' which is expected to make savings of £106 million a year.

Mr Matheson said: If we had not reformed policing in Scotland we would have suffered very significant cuts to the way in which we are operating in Scotland.

You only have to look at what is happening in England and Wales, where they are looking at almost 15,000 police officers being lost and the outsourcing of a range of services as a result.

I know that within England and Wales there is a growing number of Chief Constables saying that the existing arrangements of having 43 forces is not sustainable.

They are looking at what is happening in Scotland in terms of transformation and the change that that has allowed to be taken forward in a way that has allowed services to be sustained and to be largely protected.''

He added: Today the NAO has published a report into policing in England and Wales, and one of the areas that they have made reference to is the transformation that has taken place in Scotland, because they don't believe that the existing arrangements that they have in England and the budget cuts that they are facing in the existing structure is sustainable.

It is interesting that they have referenced Scotland and the way that they have been able to transform policing in Scotland as an example of the type of change that can be taken forward to protect the delivery of ongoing policing services.''

The NAO said: Forces will need to transform the service they deliver if they are to meet the financial challenge and address the changing nature of crime.

Although we have seen examples of innovation and good financial management in some of our visits, overall many of the savings so far could be characterised as tactical or efficiency savings, rather than service transformation.

The department (Home Office) and HM Inspector of Constabulary consider that forces can achieve higher levels of savings by increasing collaboration across forces and with other public-sector partners.''

It added: Forces will need to look at more radical ways to transform their operations, given the scale of workforce reductions required and the likely need to make further savings.

A more radical transformation happened in 2013 when the eight Scottish police forces merged into one force.

The reform cost £147 million and is expected to save £106 million a year from 2015-16.''