Devolution, Departures and Destinations: Reflections on the Railway Policing (Scotland) Act 2017
| Pages | 130-136 |
| DOI | 10.3366/elr.2019.0534 |
| Published date | 01 January 2019 |
| Author | |
| Date | 01 January 2019 |
The Railway Policing (Scotland) Act 2017 (the “2017 Act”) confers railway policing powers on Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority (“SPA”), and removes functions in relation to those powers in Scotland from the British Transport Police Authority (“BTPA”) and British Transport Police (“BTP”) constables. Passed by a narrow majority in June 2017 with an agreed commencement (or “go-live”) date of April 2019, the 2017 Act marked the first step in the integration of BTP Scotland into Police Scotland, enabling the programme of work required to deliver full integration, including secondary legislation. The post-legislative programme has however been fraught with difficulty and the 2017 Act has not yet commenced, nor is it clear if it will be commenced. Citing public safety concerns, in February 2018 the then Justice Secretary, Michael Matheson, announced integration would be postponed and a detailed “re-planning” process undertaken to establish a new “go-live” date. Six months later, prompted by advice from Police Scotland, the new Justice Secretary, Humza Yousaf, announced that the Scottish Government would “re-examine all options” with a view to enacting the principles of the devolution of railway policing more quickly, while keeping full integration as the longer-term aim.
The legislative roots of the 2017 Act lie in the Scotland Act 2016 which devolved railway policing to the Scottish Parliament, as part of a wider package of new powers agreed by the cross-party Smith Commission in the wake of the 2014 independence referendum. While the original Scottish Government proposal sought to fully integrate the BTP (and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary) into Police Scotland, the Smith Commission, in its final report, recommended only that “the functions of the British Transport Police in Scotland will be a devolved matter”, thereby leaving open a range of available policy options to the Scottish Government.
The Scottish Government quickly settled on full integration of the BTP in Scotland in to Police Scotland as its preferred policy option, rejecting alternative and less radical options put forward by the BTP and BTPA. The Scottish Government opened its plan to public consultation in June 2016 and, although the proposal drew strong criticism from staff organisations, the rail industry and individuals,
Published in December 2016, the Railway Policing Bill (the “Bill”) was underpinned by a number of key assumptions, notably that the transition costs would be “minor” and future running costs would not increase.
To continue reading
Request your trial