MSP hits out at scrapping of IT revamp

A POLITICIAN has demanded answers from police and government on the failure to implement a £7.7 million IT programme.

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos) announced last week that it was scrapping the “performance platform”, which was designed to allow the public to compare local police services.

Graeme Pearson, Labour MSP, said no-one has been held to account, and it had damaged confidence in the delivery of a single police force next April.

In a letter published in The Scotsman today, he writes: “How are we to have any confidence in the SNP government’s ability to deliver a much-needed single police force with a budget of £1.4 billion if it is incapable of ensuring £8 million can be properly spent and accounted for to the satisfaction of the public?”

Acpos said it was considering a review. Chief Constable Derek Penman added: “Acpos is committed to making the findings from any review available for public scrutiny.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman added: “A single service will enable more effective and streamlined governance of national projects.”