You’ve failed police with your Budget, Sturgeon told

POLICE have been ‘failed’ by an SNP Budget that will pile fresh pressure on the force’s finances, it is claimed.

The Scottish Government’s tax and spending plans passed their final hurdle at holyrood after being backed by MSPs, 63 to 55.

But the Liberal Democrats raised concerns about the impact on Police Scotland and other local services. The Tories also warned there has been a ‘lack of transparency’ about the cash available to spend.

The force will now receive an extra £60million in funding – but this falls short of demands from Chief Constable Iain Livingstone and the force is still facing an eye-watering £36million deficit.

The Greens signed up to the Budget deal after securing another £95million for councils, an £18million top-up on an earlier £42million boost for police, £45million for climate change and a commitment to assess the legality of £15million for free bus travel for under-19s.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said the SNP Government had left councils to ‘pick up the tab’ for measures such as the expansion of free childcare without providing adequate funding. he added: ‘They have also failed the police too. We have heard repeatedly about leaking roofs, we have heard repeatedly about the fungus growing in police stations, we have heard repeatedly about broken-down cars, we have heard repeatedly about the stress and the strain our hard-working police officers are under.’

he added: ‘We should be funding the police force properly, rather than asking them to keep us safe while failing to fund them.’

he also raised concerns about £200million of real-terms cuts to local government funding and said the Greens had been ‘duped by promises of a review about the possibility of maybe having free transport for young people’.

In yesterday’s debate, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes was criticised by Tory finance spokesman Donald Cameron over the extra £173million in total.

Miss Forbes had said the cash would come from ‘managed underspends’ and a revamp of business rates. But Mr Cameron said: ‘I acknowledge that the Cabinet Secretary introduced this Budget in difficult circumstances… but that doesn’t negate the lack of transparency in terms of what money was ultimately available in terms of her negotiations with other parties.’

On the eve of the Budget’s publication, then finance secretary Derek Mackay resigned after the Scottish Sun published details of unsolicited messages he sent to a boy, 16.