Scottish Government

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Issued: 31 January 2005
Topic:Terms and Conditions

Implementation: 1 April 2005

Impact:

Contact(s) for more information: George Vine (Tel: 0131-244-2155)

Dear Colleague

Purpose of the circular: To advise forces of proposals for the introduction of payment schemes for members of the Special Constabulary in Scotland from 1 April 2005.

Summary of contents: The attached Annex provides details of the criteria to be met before any payment scheme for Special Constables will be approved by the Scottish Ministers. The appropriate changes will be made to the Special Constable Regulations in due course. A copy of this circular is also enclosed for the Director of Finance. Copies are also being sent to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and to Audit Scotland and the Accounts Commission.

George Vine

Police Division 1

SPECIAL CONSTABLES : ARRANGEMENTS FOR PAYMENT

1. Following evaluation of pilot payment schemes for Special Constables in Grampian and Tayside which commenced on 1 April 2004, Scottish Ministers have decided to roll out payment to all Scottish forces from 1 April 2005. To protect the voluntary ethos of the Special Constabulary, participation in these schemes will not be compulsory and Special Constables will have to specifically "opt in" if they want to receive payment.

2. Individual forces will have to seek the approval of Scottish Ministers before introducing any payment scheme.

3. Provision has been made within the 2004 Spending Review for money to be allocated from 1 April 2006, i.e. at the conclusion of the 2005/06 scheme year when payments will become due. The sum, which will be taxable, will amount to £1000 per officer and will be paid to those officers who have volunteered and who meet the scheme conditions. Forces may at their own discretion cover the tax element of the payment although a consistent approach across all Forces would be preferable.

Purpose of Payment

4. Payment is intended to boost recruitment to the Special Constabulary and to help retain existing Special Constables. The intention is also to encourage forces to adopt a more robust approach towards the recruitment, retention, training and deployment of Special Constables.

5. Subject to Inland Revenue rules, the payment should be genuinely additional and should not be used to compensate officers for the out-of-pocket expenses that are already provided for in Regulations.

Management of Schemes

6. The pilots have shown that optimum use can be made of the Special Constabulary resource by introducing a mix of payment and better management/utilisation. In identifying resources for the latter, this can be achieved by appointing a full-time co-ordinator although Ministers will be interested in any proposals which build upon recommendation 7.4.2 of the 1998 Report(1) i.e. that consideration be given to appointing suitably experienced Special Constables as Administrators.

Scheme Elements

7. In seeking approval to operate a payment scheme, forces should be able to demonstrate the following scheme requirements :-

a) the minimum commitment required to qualify for payment;

b) that sufficient resources will be in place to administer any scheme;

c) that a job description has been prepared which illustrates how Special Constables will be utilised;

d) that there is a training programme in place to equip Special Constables to undertake the tasks detailed in

the Job Description; and

e) that any payment will be additional to those out-of-pocket expenses already provided for in Regulations.

Each of these elements is described in more detail below.

Minimum Commitment

7.1. Ministers do not wish to be prescriptive over the level of commitment required to qualify for payment. However they will want to be satisfied that the target is such that a reasonable return can be expected in terms of duty time. The approach adopted in the pilot areas whereby officers had to commit to undertake 45 periods of duty each comprising a minimum of 4 hours over a 12-month period (including an annual leave allowance of 4 duties) is indicative of the sort of approach that Ministers would like to see proposed. An outline of the minimum commitment should be submitted to Ministers as part of the approval process.

Administration

7.2. Any scheme will require to be properly administered if it is to be successful. This can be achieved through the appointment of a full-time co-ordinator and, consistent with recommendation 7.4.2 of the 1998 Report(1), by inviting Special Constables themselves to undertake administrative duties. There are benefits associated with the latter in that not only does it makes best use of the skills already held by Special Constables, it does not require the displacement of a Regular Officer from other duties. Should forces decide to do this by employing a full-time co-ordinator then Ministers are content for any monies left over after Special Constables have been paid to be used for this purpose. Information on how the scheme will be administered should be submitted to Ministers as part of the approval process.

Job Description

7.3. Providing the Special Constabulary with a financial incentive should result in a better motivated volunteer reserve willing to increase their contribution to delivering against Force Objectives. Traditionally, Special Constables have been trained using a mix of classroom-based training and operational experience. This should continue for those who opt in, but with added emphasis being placed on Community Policing and in particular, high visibility patrolling. A job description (e.g. the Job Description already agreed by the ACPOS Working Group) reflecting this should be submitted to Scottish Ministers as part of the approval process.

Training

7.4. Ministers will want to see evidence of a training programme for Special Constables which is based on the job description and which will equip Officers with the skills that they need to undertake the tasks expected of them. Again, the training programme should be submitted to Scottish Ministers as part of the approval process.

Expenses

7.5. Finally, Regulations provide that Special Constables should not be out of pocket as a result of undertaking duties. In order that the value of the incentive represented by this payment is protected, any payment under the scheme should be additional to payments made to cover these out of pocket expenses. Forces should provide details of the expenses currently (or intended to be) paid to Special Constables when seeking approval from Ministers.

8. Scottish Ministers will want to be satisfied that all the items above have been taken into account before approving any payment scheme.

Payment of GAE

9. This will be included in GAE allocations from 1 April 2006 and annually thereafter, thus allowing forces to make payments to Special Constables (in arrears) from April 2006 onwards.

Submission of Request for Approval.

10. There is no standard format for any request for scheme approval, but each request should address the issues highlighted in Section 7 above and include any relevant documentary evidence in support.

11. Requests for approval should be submitted annually to the Scottish Ministers and can be submitted from January onwards prior to the start of the scheme year on 1 April.

Maintaining Records

12. In order to monitor the effectiveness of payment schemes, Forces operating such a payment scheme should maintain records which show

a) The number of Special Constables in the Force;

b) The number of Special Constables who opt in;

c) The number of duty hours per officer who opts in;

d) The number of duty hours per officer who opts out;

e) The number of training hours per officer who opts in; and

f) The number of officers qualifying for payment.

(1) Report of the Working Group to Review the Role and Use of the Special Constabulary in Scotland, ACPOS, 1998.