Call to halt controversial rail policing plan after ‘significant issues’ emerge
The Scottish Government is facing renewed calls to shelve controversial railway policing plans after it emerged difficulties will not be resolved ahead of a planned start date.
Under legislation passed last year, the British Transport Police (BTP) will be integrated into Police Scotland from April next year.
Deputy Chief Constable Iain Livingstone told MSPS on the Scottish Parliament’s justice committee that there were “significant issues” relating to IT and the terms and conditions of BTP officers. He said: “We have identified there are significant issues regarding ICT, terms and conditions and pre-existing third-party contracts that will not, in our team’s judgment, be resolved by 1 April 2019.
“But what we are determined to resolve by 1 April is to make sure the operational direction and control rest with the chief constable of Police Scotland on that day.”
He added: “At this stage, I think we will have an effective integration in place by 1 April ’19. But if matters arise and they are causing difficulty, we won’t be masking it or saying things are fine when they’re not.”
There are around 200 BTP officers in Scotland who still don’t know how their pensions and terms and conditions of employment will be affected by the move to Police Scotland.
Earlier this month The Scotsman revealed that around two-thirds of BTP officers are unsure whether they will transfer following the merger. According to an internal staff survey, just 35 per cent of officers and 45 per cent of civilian staff currently intend to move across.
Scottish Labour’s justice spokesman Daniel Johnson said: “Police Scotland are in the midst of serious turmoil with several members of the senior management on special leave or suspended and fundamental questions raised about governance.
“How at a time with such serious and fundamental issues to deal with, the SNP government thinks it will be able to complete an intricate and detailed merger between Police Scotland and British Transport Police is beyond reason.
“Keeping our transport system safe should be the priority of any government. It is time for the SNP to listen to reason and put this merger on hold.”
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary, Liam Kerr, said: “Iain Livingstone has confirmed what we all know, which is that the SNP’S reckless plan to merge BTP with Police Scotland by next year won’t work and will cause further turmoil if it goes ahead.
“[Today] the Scottish Conservatives will put this issue to a vote, so the full parliament can have its say.
“It is time the merger was put on hold before any more damage is done.”