New police force won’t have HQ in Edinburgh or Glasgow

Announcing an eight-week consultation, he hit back at critics by promising that the new model would make police more accountable than the present one.

The earliest a single police force could be up and running is April 2013, Mr MacAskill said. However, the Scottish Government hopes to have Royal Assent by next summer.

The Scottish Government says the move will save about £130 million a year, or £1.7 billion over 15 years – a sum expected to be boosted further by the sale of buildings that become obsolete.

Mr MacAskill said: “Some people expressed legitimate concerns about single services, on centralisation, governance and accountability. Our proposals will address each of those.

“Centralisation will not happen. We will improve local services and strengthen links with communities.”

He added: “On accountability, we will create a strong formal relationship between each of our 32 councils and the services. A designated local officer will have significant delegated authority to work with the council and other partners to shape and deliver services.”

Asked about the location of the new force’s headquarters, he said: “It will not be Edinburgh or Glasgow. Tulliallan seems fine as a place for a chief constable to be based.”

However, he added that not all departments, such as IT, human resources, and payroll, need to be based there, which could see jobs spread evenly across Scotland.

The decision to move from eight forces to one split public opinion, with the Scottish Police Federation, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Scottish Liberal Democrats among its opponents.

Key concerns were whether local policing would still be accountable to communities, and whether the justice secretary would seek to interfere in the operational decisions of a single chief constable.

Mr MacAskill said each council would have its own divisional commander, who is expected to rank between chief inspector and chief superintendent, depending on the size and nature of the area.

That commander would devise a local policing plan that would have to be approved by the local authority. Although councillors will be able to say what the priorities will be, they will not be allowed to dictate how they should be tackled.

Mr MacAskill said that, as only 146 of the total 1,222 councillors in Scotland currently sit on police boards or authorities, this move will increase accountability by giving them all a role.

Meanwhile, an unelected Scottish Police Authority will act as a buffer between the national chief constable and the justice secretary. The chief constable will be answerable to the authority on performance, budgets and resources, but will not be dictated to on operational matters, Mr MacAskill said.

“We will ensure clear separation between ministers and the services by establishing new independent bodies to hold the chief constable and chief fire officer to account,” he added.

In the Scottish Parliament, Labour has supported single police and fire services, while the Conservatives have pledged to support whatever model leads to the most officers on the streets.

However, Johann Lamont, Scottish Labour justice spokeswoman, said: “If I have a regret about the statement, it is that detail is lacking.

“We need detail on how he proposes to manage services during the transition period and how we will keep people safe under the new structure.”

Conservative justice spokesman John Lamont added: “We can well understand the concern local people have with the issue of emergency-service reform, which is why we will only support the Scottish Government’s proposals if certain guarantees are given.”

He called for the SNP to maintain the extra 1,000 officers, which was a Tory policy.

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman Alison McInnes said: “The justice secretary’s statement is silent on the vast number of people who expressed real concerns about this move.”

The Scottish Government estimates a single force will cost £161m to set up. A national fire service is expected to cost £25.4m to establish, but bring savings of £293m over 15 years.

Chief Constable Kevin Smith, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos), said: “Moving to a single police force for Scotland is the most significant change to the service in its history.

“As the leaders of the service, it is our responsibility and indeed our duty, along with the Scottish Government, to make this work for the people of Scotland.”

Chief Fire Officer of Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service Jimmy Campbell said: “To succeed, we must engage not just at government level but with our own workforce, fire and rescue services across the country, chief fire officers, the unions and other stakeholders to ensure reform delivers the best outcomes for the people of Scotland.”

The consultation will seek views on the new governance make-up of both services, and how they will be funded, inspected and audited.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), which had strongly opposed the move to single forces, promised to engage with the new consultation.

Pat Watters, president of Cosla, said: “There must be no con in this consultation.

“On behalf of local communities we will need to go through this consultation paper with a fine-tooth comb.”