Lanarkshire’s top police officer has admitted that the force is facing significant challenges due to experienced senior officers now being able to retire earlier in addition to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chief Superintendent Alan Waddell says that Police Scotland is working hard to address issues and maintain effective policing for the public.
His comments came after his counterpart in Ayrshire revealed that 70 per cent of uniformed Inspectors there are taking early retirement following a change to the rules surrounding their pensions.
Chief Superintendent Faroque Hussain was questioned on the number of retirals by a local councillor at a meeting of South Ayrshire Council’s Partnerships Panel. A change at the start of the financial year in April has meant that officers can now retire after 25 years service without their pension being affected, previously it was 30 years service.
Known as the McCloud remedy, amendments to pension scheme rules moved all members to a “reformed scheme” on April 1 and closed legacy pension schemes to future accrual from March 31 this year.
In a letter to MSPs on the Scottish Government’s Justice Committee in May this year David Page, Deputy Chief Officer for corporate services at Police Scotland, told how 735 officers had already indicated there intention to leave the force in 2022, with 440 of them having service lengths of between 25 and 29 year – which could be “directly attributed to the pension changes”.
He said: “The recent changes to the police pensions scheme has directly increased the number of retirements that we would normally expect to see.”
Normally around 800 Police Scotland officers leave the service each year.
Lanarkshire Police Division’s top cop has highlighted a current recruitment drive by the force but does admit it faces challenges due to the pension change.
Chief Superintendent Alan Waddell said: “The implications of the McCloud Remedy and other pensions’ issues are being assessed in full by Police Scotland. Retirement rates, in addition to extra pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, have created significant challenge and we are working hard to address these issues and maintain effective policing for the public we serve.
"As a single national service, we are identifying resources and managing recruitment to provide support and stability to frontline policing.
“Our latest recruitment campaign has just begun. Policing in Scotland is an exceptionally varied and rewarding career and I would encourage anyone seeking a new challenge to consider joining Police Scotland.”
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