The Scottish Government

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Dates

Issued: 24 January 2006 Topic:Terms and Conditions

Implementation: 1 April 2006

Impact:

Contact(s) for more information: Tracy Hynds (Tel: 0131-244-2155)

(at the above address)

Dear Colleague

Purpose of the circular: To advise forces of the arrangements for the operation of payment schemes for members of the Special Constabulary in Scotland from 1 April 2006.

Summary of contents: The attached Annex provides details of the criteria to be met before any 2005/06 payment scheme for Special Constables will be approved by the Scottish Ministers for rollover into 2006/07. 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.

Neil MacLennan

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 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 is not compulsory and Special Constables have to specifically "opt in" if they want to receive payment.

2. All eight forces sought approval from Scottish Ministers before introducing their payment schemes in 2005, and further approval will need to be sought in order to start a new scheme year from April 2006.

3. Provision was made within the 2004 Spending Review for money to be allocated from 1 April 2007, i.e. at the conclusion of the 2006/07 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. Special Constables represent a valuable resource to the Police Service in the shape of members of a Community coming forward with a willingness to take on some of the responsibility for policing that community. Accordingly, Ministers are keen for Special Constables to be used in ways that are consistent with the best principles of Community Policing, particularly in terms of improving police visibility and public reassurance. Community deployment aside, forces are generally encouraged to adopt a more robust approach towards the recruitment, retention and training 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 showed 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 to assist with management/utilisation issues.

Scheme Elements

7. In seeking approval to roll a payment scheme into 2006/07, 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;

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

f) That management and recording systems are in place to allow forces to supply the Scottish Executive with scheme performance data required at (14) below.

Each of these elements is described in more detail below.

Minimum Commitment

7.1. Ministers intend to set out in regulations the level of commitment required to qualify for payment. Meantime, Ministers are satisfied that the targets which were set in the 2004/05 scheme year were sufficient to deliver a reasonable return in terms of duty time. This entailed an approach 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). 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 or by considering recommendation 7.4.2 of the 1998 Report(1) and providing opportunities for 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 to distribute any surplus (up to a maximum of £35,000 per force) which remains after funds have been distributed to meet the cost of the basic Reward payments to Special Constables. Information on how the scheme was administered in the previous scheme year with details of any amendments proposed for the forthcoming year 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 more emphasis being placed on Community Policing and in particular, high visibility patrolling. A job description 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 designed to support the job description and which will equip Officers with the skills that they need to undertake the tasks expected of them. The training programme should comprise both initial recruit training and ongoing developmental training for established officers. A copy of the programme should be submitted to Scottish Ministers as part of the approval process.

Expenses

7.5. 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 paid to Special Constables when seeking approval from Ministers.

Management and Recording

7.6 It is essential that reliable performance data is made available within a reasonable timescale to facilitate monitoring by the Scottish Executive. The data required is detailed at Paragraph 14 below and should be recorded on a rolling basis. When seeking approval to run a scheme Forces should confirm that they will meet this requirement.

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

Scheme Year

9. The primary scheme period will run from 1 April to 31 March. In order not to unduly disadvantage new recruits who may have applied on the understanding that a Reward would be payable, officers who join the service after the start of the primary scheme period but before 30 September may opt-in to a "probationary scheme period" from 1 October to 31 March. Such officers will be eligible to receive one half of the reward payment applicable to the principal scheme period if they meet one half of the principal scheme period commitment (e.g. 22 duties comprising a minimum of 4-hours each).

Payment of Grant

10. This will be included in Police Central Government 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.

11.The form for submitting applications is at Annex A. This may be supplemented by any other relevant documentary evidence that forces wish to provide.

12. Requests for approval should be submitted annually to the Scottish Ministers and can be submitted from January onwards but no later than the start of the principal scheme year on 1 April.

Maintaining Records

13. In order to monitor the effectiveness of payment schemes Forces should maintain records which can be used to show:

a) The number of Special Constables in the Force at the report date;

b) The number of Special Constables who opted in on 1 April;

c) The number of Special Constables who opted in on 1 October;

d) The average number of duty hours per officer who opts in, arranged by

Response

Community (including public Events)

Other

e) The average number of duty hours per officer who opted out;

f) The average number of training hours per officer who opted in; and

g) The number of officers on target to qualify for payment under i) the Primary Scheme Period; and ii) the Probationary Scheme Period.

14 A report detailing all of the above should be submitted to the Scottish Executive Police Division at the address given above on a quarterly basis, i.e. by 30 June(2), 30 September, 31 December and 31 March.

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

(2) Excluding figures for new recruits who may opt in from 1 October.

Application to Operate a Special Constabulary Reward Scheme in 2006

1. Please set out below the minimum commitment expected in terms of both operational duty hours and training hours of Special Constables who opt-in to the Reward Scheme. Describe any split in operational duty hours, e.g. between "response" and "community"

2. Please provide details of the management and/or administrative resources that will be dedicated to operating this scheme (2) including % shares if appropriate

3. Please enclose with this application a copy of the Job Description that will apply to opted-in Special Constables, and describe the intended focus of this Job Description below.

4. Please enclose with this application a copy of the training programme that will be undertaken by opted-in Special Constables, and describe the intended focus of this training programme below.

5. Please describe below the out-of-pocket expenses payable to opted-in Special Constables in your force.

6. Please describe below the monitoring arrangements in place to record all of the above, and confirm that you will supply the data stipulated in Section 14 of the Circular to the Scottish Executive on a quarterly basis.

Finally, please e-mail this application to tracy.hynds@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
or post it to:

Tracy Hynds
Police Division 1
Area 1 WR
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

(1) This application must be submitted no later than 1 April 2006

(2) Excerpts from the Job Descriptions of the relevant co-ordinators / administrators may be attached.