Displaying items by tag: alex neil

Police Scotland has been called ‘an organisation in crisis’ after it emerged the force will face a £200 million funding gap by 2020-21. Auditor-general Caroline Gardner gave this figure, which she said was a conservative estimate, to MSPs during a scathing assessment of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). Her evidence led to a call for the SPA, Chief Constable Phil Gormley, and the Scottish government to appear before the committee to explain the “financial mess”. Ms Gardner said there was ‘weak financial leadership’ in both Police Scotland and the SPA, the organisation which manages the £1.1 billion policing budget. She also said there may yet be wider financial implications as a result of the decision to scrap the controversial i6 computer system last year. SNP MSP Alex Neil, a former health secretary, told the committee the performance of the two organisations was ‘totally unacceptable’.