600 five-seat police cars only allowed to carry three, Tories claim

Hundreds of police cars in Scotland are only insured to carry three people despite being able to hold five, according to the Scottish Conservatives.

The Tories say figures they obtained through a freedom of information request show 628 five-seat vehicles owned by Police Scotland are only insured to hold three people.

Papers from the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) suggest there are currently 3,400 vehicles in the Police Scotland fleet, however it is unclear how many of these are five-seat cars.

According to the Tories, the vehicles need improved suspension to allow for the extra weight created by additional passengers and officers' equipment, and some have not had these changes made.

But Police Scotland insisted the party's claims are "inaccurate", saying health and safety guidance had been issued that some vehicles should not carry more than three people while travelling at high speeds.

It is understood the guidance was issued solely for the safety of officers and insurance matters were not considered as a factor.

A Police Scotland source told the PA news agency the answer in the FOI release was in direct response to the question asked, which queried the number of cars "only insured or deemed safe for three people".

The force also said there is no operational impact on officers' ability to carry out their duties, adding that police vans are often used when a higher number of officers are needed to attend incidents.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr, along with the SPA, has said the force should be better resourced to allow for the necessary upgrades to cars to be carried out.

However, the SPA said underfunding has been an issue for many years, even before the creation of a centralised force in 2013.

Mr Kerr said: "These revelations are symptomatic of a police force which isn't properly supported or funded by the SNP Government.

"Hardly a day goes by where we don't see another damaging impact of Police Scotland being one of the worst-funded forces in the UK.

"And while this insurance glitch may not have a direct impact on the public, it still places more strain on an organisation which is already struggling to keep its head above water.

"Clearly the SNP Government thinks it can save some cash by placing these restrictions on vehicles.

"But in reality, it only serves to make the jobs of hard-working police officers that little bit harder."

A spokeswoman for the force said: "It is inaccurate to state that Police Scotland has vehicles which are only insured to carry three people.

"Police Scotland self-insures its fleet and following a review, we issued an advisory note for a small number of our vehicles recommending that, in some cases, it was inadvisable for more than three people to travel while driving at higher speeds.

"This is in the interest of safety due to the weight of the police equipment, which must be carried as standard, when considering the overall weight capacity of the vehicle.

"This has a minimal operational impact and for events or incidents where greater numbers of officers are required to travel together, larger police vehicles with an increased weight capacity are utilised.

"The safety of all officers, and of any individuals within our custody, is of paramount importance.

"We are currently reviewing our fleet strategy to ensure it meets the needs of a modern police service."

A spokesman for the SPA said: "Both the SPA and Police Scotland have been making a strong and compelling case for additional capital investment in policing.

"A legacy of under-funding in infrastructure goes back many years and long before creation of a single service.

"The authority approved a new fleet strategy for Police Scotland on November 27 and we now have a real opportunity, through modernisation of the police fleet, to both enhance effectiveness and efficiency of policing and make a significant contribution to tackling the climate crisis."

The SPA's strategy aims to phase out fossil fuel use in police vehicles, transferring officers instead to ultra low-emission vehicles (ULEVs) by 2030.

A report released in November predicts an investment of £129 million is needed in the next decade to transfer the fleet, which is expected to save £42.8 million over the same period.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "As with many public bodies, Police Scotland's fleet are exempt from employers' liability regulations, meaning that all police vehicles are covered by self-insurance.

"Police Scotland has made clear that it is inaccurate to suggest that they have vehicles which are only insured to carry three people.

"Despite UK Government cuts to the Scottish Budget, the Scottish Government has increased the annual funding for policing by more than #80 million since 2016-17 - bringing it to #1.2 billion for 2019-20."

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