5. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government considers the impact will be on local policing of reported plans to replace local police officers with officers from other divisions on public holidays to avoid double-time payments. (S4F-01563)

Redeploying police officers according to operational need is not a new development across Scotland. For example, the former Strathclyde Police regularly redeployed officers from outlying areas to the city centre when that was needed.

No negative impact is expected as a result of the redeployment. The operational baseline in divisions will be maintained, and only officers who are above that baseline would be deployed to other areas to supplement local officers when necessary. That will ensure that we continue to provide visible policing in our communities, while delivering a more effective and efficient police service across Scotland.

After discussions with a divisional commander, a local council leader said that they were dealing with

“these very difficult cuts”.

The Scottish Police Federation has expressed concern that no discussions led up to the development. The chief constable said in the Aberdeen Evening Express that he had insufficient budget to maintain police numbers. The City of Edinburgh Council’s Labour-SNP administration has decided to review its current commitment to pay for additional local police officers to patrol its city; I have no doubt that other local authorities will follow that.

Given that, will the First Minister consider whether the cornerstone of policing success in Scotland since 1800—the maintenance of the policing of local communities by local police officers—

The Presiding Officer:

We need a question, Mr Pearson.

—is being abandoned as a result of the Government’s actions, despite repeated assurances that the national police service would deliver community policing across Scotland’s communities?

Graeme Pearson is being very unfair to Assistant Chief Constable Mike McCormick, who pointed out in The Courier that,

“As an employer, Police Scotland is also committed to safeguarding the welfare of its officers and staff. Utilising our resources from across the country to support operational requirements ensures locally-based personnel are not required to work longer hours and allows them the opportunity to be released from duty on local public holidays wherever possible.”

There is a strong argument in what the assistant chief constable said.

On police officer numbers, it is fair to assume from Labour’s positioning that we have at least 1,000 more police officers on the streets and in the communities of Scotland than we would have had if Labour had been in power, since it has not once been prepared to support that policy.

As for police officers’ terms and conditions, any Police Federation representative will tell members that decisions that the Government has made to protect officers against the changes that are taking place in England and Wales not just in police numbers but in police terms and conditions have placed this country and our communities in a hugely superior position to that of those south of the border. Graeme Pearson well knows that any serving officer will confirm that position.