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Revised timetable for integration

20 February, 2018

British Transport
Police Federation
February 20, 2018

Revised timetable for integration


We are pleased to tell you that the timetable for the integration of BTP Scotland into Police Scotland is being revised.

A special meeting of the Joint Programme Board was held today, from which came a clear message that successful and safe integration cannot be achieved by April 2019. This was reported to Michael Matheson MSP, the Justice Minister, who has announced that "a detailed re-planning exercise will now take place over the coming months to ensure robust delivery plans are in place for all of the key elements of the programme and to establish a new delivery date".

We welcome the entirely sensible decision to delay the 'go live' date. We now hope to see a realistic timeframe being set which allows for better planning, greater analysis of the costs of integration, and deeper understanding of the risks.

We know that for you, our members across Scotland, this process has caused many months of worry and concern. This has been recognised by the Joint Programme Board and the Scottish Government and we welcome the commitment to improving staff engagement. We will continue to support the sharing of information in any way we can.

Today's announcement is likely to prompt questions in your minds, and we hope to be able to issue further information that explains what happens next in due course.

You can read the statement issued by the Justice Minister/the Scottish Government here.