New bases for emergency services

Feb 21 2012

The location of the interim headquarters for Scotland's new police and fire services have been announced.

The Police Service of Scotland will initially be based in Tulliallan, Fife, which is also home to the Scottish Police College.

Meanwhile, the new Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will have its interim base at Perth Community Fire Station. The two organisations, due to replace the existing eight police services and fire brigades from April next year, will then need to decide where their permanent bases will be.

The Scottish Government's Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill will establish single forces for each service by merging regional divisions.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill welcomed the announcement of the interim headquarters, describing the new bases as "convenient" and "cost-effective" choices. He also said they should help provide a "smooth transition" to the new services to "ensure communities across Scotland continue to experience excellent police and fire and rescue services".

Mr MacAskill said: "The transition to the new services should be as smooth as possible and using existing venues as interim headquarters will keep costs and disruption to a minimum. Regardless of where the small leadership teams are based, local services with strong connections to the communities that rely on them will continue to be at the heart of the new police and fire services."

He said: "I warmly welcome the decision of the services to base their leadership teams at Tulliallan Castle and Perth Community Fire Station on an interim basis. The final decision on where headquarters will be based will of course be a matter for the new Scottish Police Authority and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. However, I would expect the various support services to be based in locations around the country."

Chief Constable Kevin Smith, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, said the move to a single force is "an important new chapter in the history of policing in Scotland".

Mr Smith said: "The proposed start date of April 1 2013 is just over 12 months away and there is a lot to be done in the next year to make the change necessary to have the new structure in place.

"Reform will not stop on the first day of the new organisation and the service will continue to take shape over the next five years to ensure its fit for purpose and makes the savings which are required in a challenging financial landscape."