Governments reportedly near to agreement on costs of COP26

The UK and Scottish Governments are in the final stages of negotiations on policing for COP26 and Westminster is prepared to foot the bill, according to the acting head of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).

Holyrood and Westminster have been engaged in a spat over who will cover security costs at the 10-day climate summit, due to be held in Glasgow in November.

The Scottish Government has insisted the UK Government should pay, though First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had called for a “reset” in the relationship between the two administrations when it comes to dealing with the summit.

Lynn Brown, SPA acting chief executive, has said negotiations are now in their final phase for the UK Government to pick up the tab, through a mixture of funding via the Scottish Consolidated Fund, drafting in reinforcements from other forces across the country and an accommodation payment from the Foreign Office.

She told a meeting of the SPA board yesterday: “It hasn’t been specifically agreed but that’s highly likely to be what we’re doing through mutual aid.

“The Foreign and Commonwealth Office have also been very helpful on accommodation, they will deal with that and that takes out another significant amount of money – about £28 million to £30m.”

An SPA report has claimed costs could be as high as £250 million, although the figure is considered to be an estimate for the “worst-case scenario”.

A total of 90,000 delegates are expected to attend the summit and climate protests could bring out an estimated 500,000 people.