£115m BILL FOR POLICE OVERTIME

Scottish Lib Dems reveal extra payments

POLICE Scotland have paid out more than £115million in overtime payments since they were set up five years ago, it emerged yesterday.

Scottish Lib Dem justice spokesman Liam McArthur raised fears officers are being overworked after uncovering the figure using freedom of information laws.

The response revealed £115.43million has been spent on overtime since Police Scotland were established in 2013.

And police bosses have admitted payment figures will rise further this year due to specific one-off costs such as the terror threat level being raised to critical in response to attacks on Manchester and London.

McArthur said: “We know THESE two band-bellied owls – one male and one female – have been given a new home at the Scottish Owl Centre in Bathgate, West Lothian, after being flown in from Italy. that police officers and staff often feel up against it. The 2015 staff survey showed they felt the service and their resources were stretched.

“That’s why we have called for a repeat of the service-wide survey to find out what has, or hasn’t, improved.”

The Scottish Police Authority’s draft budget, out last week, showed the number of officers in Scotland is set to fall by 100.

McArthur added: “It’s clear SNP ministers have ditched the 1000 extra police officers policy they boasted about for years but don’t have the courage to tell anyone.”

A police spokesman defended the use of overtime. He said: “Overtime is an important and essential element of any flexible and responsive policing service, but we recognise the importance of working within controlled budgets.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The figures show clearly that overtime has been reducing every year since Police Scotland was formed.

“The deployment of resources is an operational matter for the Chief Constable.

“We expect Police Scotland to have robust policies in place to support staff and they have a number of targeted activities to support wellbeing and occupational health.

“The welfare of each and every police officer is taken very seriously.”