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Issued: 27/04/05 Topic: Finance and Other Resources

Implementation: Immediate

Contact(s) for more information: Ann Tocher
(At the above address)
(Tel: 0131 244 2148)

Dear Colleague

Purpose of the circular: To inform police authorities and joint police boards of the amount of capital grant payable to them under section 37 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 and of the arrangements for monitoring and managing underspends of capital grant.

A copy of the Police Capital Grant (Scotland) Determination 2005 is enclosed.

A copy of this circular is enclosed for the information of the Director of Finance/Treasurer. Copies have also been sent to the police associations, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Accounts Commission.

Yours sincerely

Ann Tocher

POLICE CAPITAL GRANT (SCOTLAND) DETERMINATION 2005

1. From 1 April 2004 new arrangements were implemented for allocating capital funding to the police authorities i.e. the two unitary police authorities and the six joint police boards. The purpose of this circular is to inform police authorities and joint boards of the amount of capital grant payable to them and of the arrangements for monitoring and managing underspends of capital grant.

Purposes of the Grants

2. The grant is made under section 37 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 in respect of police authority capital expenditure. The grant shall only be used for those purposes and for no other purpose whatsoever.

3. No part of the grant shall be used to fund any activity by a police authority that is party political in intention, use, or presentation, or which promotes or opposes a point of view on a question of political controversy which is identifiable as the view of one political party and not another.

Payment of Grant

4. The grant shall normally be paid by the Scottish Ministers to police authorities in twelve equal instalments in each Financial Year, on or around the 15th day of each month.

Monitoring and Managing Underspends

5. Police authorities are requested to provide the Scottish Ministers with three in-year and one end year assessment of capital spending 15 days after the end of June, September, December and March respectively. The assessments should set out actual capital expenditure to date and the forecast levels of expenditure for the remainder of the Financial Year. To allow for consistency with police authority accounting systems, the assessment can be submitted on a 12-week or 3-month basis. It is intended to issue a pro-forma style statement to police authorities to be used for this purpose. This is currently under review, in consultation with ACPOS. Further guidance will be issued in time for the assessment due by 15 July 2005.

6. If it becomes apparent to a police authority that that police authority is expecting to under-spend its allocation of Capital Grant for the Financial Year, it will be open to that police authority to enter into an agreement with one or more other police authorities whereby that police authority may transfer a proportion of its Capital Grant to such other police authority in respect of that other police authority's capital expenditure for the Financial Year. A police authority entering into such an agreement shall first give written notice the Scottish Ministers.

7. If the account prepared under paragraph 5 above indicates that a police authority has underspent its annual allocation of capital grant (notwithstanding that it has transferred funds to another police authority under the transfer arrangements referred to in paragraph 6) it will be open to a police authority to carry forward that underspend to the next Financial Year up to an amount not exceeding 5% of the annual allocation for the year in which the underspend occurred, or, with the express consent of the Scottish Ministers, up to an amount not exceeding 10% of the said annual allocation. If the underspend exceeds the 5% it will be open to the Scottish Ministers to reduce the following year's allocation by the excess amount.

Inspection and Information

8. The police authority shall keep and maintain adequate and proper records and books of account recording all receipts and expenditure of monies paid to it by the Scottish Ministers by way of grant. These records shall be maintained for a period of 3 years after the financial year end in which the expenditure occurs. The police authority shall afford the Scottish Ministers, their representatives, Audit Scotland, and such other persons as the Scottish Ministers may reasonably specify from time to time, such access to those records or books of account as may be required by them at any reasonable time. The police authority shall provide such oral or written explanations in connection with the inspection of such records or books of account, or any entry in them or any matter arising from them as may be required by the person carrying out the inspection.