Leader questions future of Inverness Control Room

Responding to questions asked in the Scottish Parliament, Leader of the Highland Council, Margaret Davidson said:

“I am shocked to hear that Police Scotland is considering options other than to have the National Database Enquiry Unity (NDEU) based in Inverness. This would be going back on promises and commitments made since Police Scotland announced the intended closure of the Control Room in Inverness.

“To have two centres, shared with Govan, would dilute the service and jobs in Inverness and weaken the future of any service in Inverness. This new proposal underlines the continual move to centralisation. No consultation has been undertaken on this latest move and we have been refused a copy of the options paper. We should not have to "read between the lines" of ambiguous SPA Board papers to interpret their meaning. I want to see a copy of the options paper to fully understand what is being proposed.

“I will be watching the SPA meeting today with interest to see what scrutiny will be applied to Police Scotland’s plans for Inverness.”

She added: “I am also keen to get an update on the status of the 30 recommendations made in the final HMICS Independent Assurance Review Report. Earlier this year, some of these were partially discharged and 2 remained open. We need assurances that all the recommendations have been fully met before a final decision is made on the closure of the Inverness Control Room.”