Scottish Police Federation (Industrial Action)
I hope I am not a grumpy old man.
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any increased risk to public safety resulting from industrial action by the Scottish Police Federation. (S6T-02168)
The Scottish Government greatly values the dedication shown by police officers and, in recognition of that, we have made a very fair offer of a 4.75 per cent pay rise. That above-inflation offer is the same as was awarded to police officers in England and Wales and is the maximum offer affordable, given the severe pressures on public finances. Officers in Scotland have consistently been the best paid in the United Kingdom and our offer would ensure that that remains the case.
I am disappointed that the Scottish Police Federation has asked its members to withdraw good will while the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland continues to progress the claim through its conciliation and arbitration process. In the meantime, I have been assured by the chief constable and by the chair of the Scottish Police Authority that plans are in place to manage the impact of the action.
I hope that the cabinet secretary will forgive me if I am not reassured by the one sentence at the end of her answer that responded to my specific question.
This is a monumental mess of the Scottish National Party’s own making. Morale is at rock bottom in Police Scotland, good will is gone and, starved of resources by the SNP Government, the thin blue line is stretched to breaking point. David Kennedy’s letter of 30 October is a cry of despair on behalf of his members.
The action now being taken by the SPF will see a massive increase in overtime payments and huge gaps in cover. Public safety must always be the primary responsibility of any Government. Does the cabinet secretary accept that this SNP Government is failing in that duty?
I say with respect to Mr Kerr that Scotland remains a safer place today, under this Government, than under any of our predecessors. For the record, we have made a very fair offer of 4.75 per cent.
I point to the fact that this Government has increased investment in policing in every year since 2016 and that that has contributed to a police force that we are all proud of.
Once again, there is not much reassurance on the issue of public safety, given the gaps that there will now be in that very thin blue line. We have the lowest number of front-line police officers since 2007 and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland reported yesterday on the impact of the overall reduction in officer numbers.
That matters. Police officers are leaving the service at the first opportunity, stress-related absence is at an all-time high and shift safety levels are routinely ignored. It is embarrassing that the industrial action by police officers is happening when Scotland is hosting the International Criminal Police Organization—Interpol—in Glasgow.
What will the cabinet secretary do now to fix that mess of the SNP’s own making?
It is important to stress to Mr Kerr, and to Parliament, that negotiations continue. Nonetheless, I sought specific reassurances from both the chief constable and the chair of the Scottish Police Authority about what impact the withdrawal of good will would have and how that would be managed.
Thanks to this Government, investment in policing in this financial year has increased by £92 million. That is an increase of in excess of 5 per cent at a time when the consequences of Tory austerity have been very real. I am very pleased to inform Parliament that police numbers are once again rising. That is, of course, thanks to the record level of investment from this Government.
I note the cabinet secretary’s confirmation that the pay claims continue to be progressed through the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland. Will she further explain the two separate processes for police pay and say whether any pay offer will be backdated?
Police officer pay is negotiated through the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland, involving the Scottish Police Authority, Police Scotland and the Scottish Government. Police staff pay negotiations take place through the joint negotiating consultative committee, with the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland negotiating with the trade unions. Those formal structures are important. They provide police officers and staff in Scotland with a collective pay bargaining process and, as I have intimated, that process remains on-going. Once agreement is reached, that is backdated.
ScotRail Ticket Offices (Opening Hours)
I remind members that I am the convener of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers parliamentary group.
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of any potential implications for accessibility, equality and safety for passengers and the public, whether it will permit the reduction in opening hours of ticket offices by ScotRail. (S6T-02170)
No offices will be closed and there will not be any job losses. ScotRail ticket office opening hours have remained unchanged for over 30 years, but ticket office sales have reduced markedly, from 78 per cent to 14 per cent, over that period. Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail have rightly reviewed ticket offices to ensure that they deliver services that meet passenger expectations. The Scottish Government must ensure that ScotRail is deploying its resources in the best interests of passengers. I have considered ScotRail’s proposals carefully and am content with them.
ScotRail’s proposals would see an increase in the hours that ticket offices are open in 12 stations, while there will be a reduction in opening times of less than 60 minutes at 21 stations and a reduction of more than 60 minutes at 33 stations. Making those proposed adjustments to ticket office opening hours will enable the redeployment of some ScotRail staff to provide more and better assistance for passengers—especially disabled passengers. It will also mean that staff are more visible, which will help to deter antisocial behaviour and reduce fare evasion.
The cabinet secretary protests that there are no ticket office closures, but ticket offices at 54 stations across Scotland will be closed at parts of the day when they are currently open, although we do not even know where the axe will fall, because the list in the ScotRail press release last week, it now admits, is wrong. Does the cabinet secretary accept that ScotRail has screwed up, not least in applying now-obsolete criteria based on ticket sales alone, when the current procedure for reviewing ticket offices, which is now in force, requires decisions to be based on assistance, safety, security and access? Will she today direct ScotRail to apply the up-to-date tests rather than the defunct ones? Will the cabinet secretary publish the equality impact assessment of the proposed cuts to booking office opening hours?
Particular equality impact assessments have been conducted and they are reflected in the proposals. I hear what the member says about the criteria, but it is important to look at the benefits for safety and, in particular, deterring antisocial behaviour that affects passengers. The visibility of ScotRail staff can help to address that. Trying to provide more dedicated passenger assistance, including for disabled passengers, is also very important as part of the service. The advice from Transport Focus, which represents passengers, has been included. The proposals will go to consultation with unions and affected employees, which will take a period of 12 weeks.
Here are the facts. More than 98 per cent of responses to the consultation oppose the cuts. The Transport Salaried Staffs Association has described ScotRail as
“disingenuous ... putting women and vulnerable passengers at risk.”
The RMT, led by its members on the front line, says that the action is “closure by stealth”.
Does the Cabinet Secretary for Transport not begin to understand that it is a fraud on the travelling public to describe those cuts as “frontline customer service improvements”? Does she not understand how angry people are after cuts to railway maintenance and hikes in fares—and now that station ticket office hours are to be slashed? The Scottish Government is the sole shareholder of ScotRail. Will the cabinet secretary use that shareholder power to intervene?
There are a number of factual inaccuracies in what Richard Leonard said. He might want to reflect on that, particularly in relation to some of the maintenance budget issues, which I have addressed in the past in a number of letters to a number of MSPs.
The consultation has just started, so Mr Leonard is factually incorrect in referring to a previous consultation. The 12-week period will take us to at least March 2025.
He will reflect that ticket offices are not being used as they were for ticket sales. It is important that we protect staff and their jobs. However, in the consultation that has just started, there will be an opportunity to enable that discussion and dialogue with the employees and the unions to ensure what passengers want and need: more visibility of ScotRail staff, to help them to feel more safe and secure.
I am constantly asked about antisocial behaviour on our railways. The change from having people in ticket offices to their being more visible in our stations and on our trains will be welcomed, particularly by the travelling public.
ScotRail has stated:
“Where ticket offices see reduced hours, staff will carry out”—
as the cabinet secretary has said—
“other customer supporting duties”,
including
“increased staff visibility”.
What assessment has been made of how the changes can help to increase safety in stations in Scotland?
ScotRail’s experience is that targeting antisocial behaviour through proactively planning a more visible staff presence at the right locations makes our rail network safer and provides assurance to passengers. ScotRail’s proposed changes in staff deployment will make more than 60 staff actively more available to support passengers in that way. It is estimated that that increased presence will deliver an additional 11.5 million opportunities per year for interactions between staff and passengers. Such interactions help to provide reassurance to passengers and tackle antisocial behaviour.
In its proposals for Lockerbie station, ScotRail makes the same mistake as it did last time in getting the current opening times of the station wrong. I highlighted that to it at the time, as I did in the chamber to the cabinet secretary’s predecessor. ScotRail also proposes new opening times that make it impossible for staff to sell tickets in time for two of the busiest trains of the day, for the sake of 10 minutes. The proposed new times would also mean that staff would not be there to dispatch some Avanti West Coast services from the station—which, I presume, is a contractual arrangement. Therefore, when the cabinet secretary says that she is content with those proposals, is she really content that ScotRail is misleading the public over the current opening times, and is she content that it has not clearly thought through the proposals for Lockerbie station?
I very much appreciate Colin Smyth’s comments. He knows the detail in relation to Lockerbie station. I am sure that ScotRail will be paying attention to this question, and I expect it to respond to me directly, and to Colin Smyth, to address the points that he has made.
The decision to bring back peak fares has brought back complex, costly and confusing ticketing on ScotRail services. Does the cabinet secretary accept that reducing ticket office hours not only removes passengers’ access to expert ticketing advice in order to get the cheapest tickets but significantly disadvantages disabled passengers who require assistance when travelling on our rail network? What consultation can the cabinet secretary continue with disability rights groups to ensure that those people are not disadvantaged by the changes?
It is important to reflect that, in particular, access to information points is being rolled out and expanded. That is a requirement from us, to ensure that issues that were raised previously are addressed.
The point about making sure that more staff are available to help people with disabilities on and off our trains is important. The fact that only one hour’s notice is required in Scotland, compared with two hours’ notice in the rest of the UK, is a reflection of how important such issues are to us. The reason that the number of access points is being expanded is precisely to ensure that ticketing information is available.
However, the proposals have to reflect the changes in passengers’ behaviours, such as when they choose to travel, when they choose to buy their ticket and how they propose to purchase that ticket. As we all know, that is increasingly being done digitally.
Can the cabinet secretary guarantee that the changes, if they go ahead, will increase the staff presence and visibility at stations? When office hours have been reduced previously, that has not been the case. I am concerned that the cabinet secretary says that she is content with the proposals when so many concerns are being raised by members from across the chamber.
The proposals have just been announced and we are now going into a period of consultation with the affected staff. The individual points and the reflections of members can be relayed during that consultation. The Transport Focus feedback on the previous consultation has been important in reflecting concerns.
Access to information is critical, but circumstances have changed. It would be odd for any organisation not to change its processes in line with that, particularly if it did not reflect on changes in passenger behaviour, activity and travel times to reflect the reality. Our point is that there has to be redeployment for visibility and accessibility, which cannot necessarily happen if somebody has to stay in a ticket office for extended hours.
That concludes topical questions.
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