Maintenance bill could hit £260m

Police Scotland has pledged to ensure its buildings are “fit for purpose” as concerns were raised that the force could be facing a maintenance bill amounting to more than £260million over the next decade.

The Liberal Democrats said details released under Freedom of Information laws showed the cost of upkeep for buildings and also maintaining the force’s mechanical and electrical systems amounted £262,952,116.

Liam McArthur, the party’s justice spokesman said the “huge bill” had come about as part of the “botched centralisation” of the force by the Scottish Government.

Mr McArthur said: “We’ve seen reports of police cars held together with duct tape, leaking interview rooms and officers searching charity shops for to gear. Now this Freedom of Information request reveals that, over the next 10 years, the cost of routine maintenance of the police estate will be more than a quarter of a billion pounds.

“That is a huge bill and it is what is required just to keep up. It won’t even begin to cover the new investment that is required to ensure officers and staff have the 21st-century resources they need.”

Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said the total was the amount the force would have to pay “if we were simply to maintain our current estate”. But he insisted that was not the intention, and that the Policing 2026 Strategy had set out “ambitious plans to build the police service Scotland needs for the future”.

In its response to the Lib Dems, Police Scotland said the estimated spending on maintenance included replacing “components and systems assessed against the anticipated lifecycle” that may be required over the next 10 years.

“It won’t begin to cover required new investment”