Two Tier Workforce
The Sunday Herald highlighted another shameful use of public money at the weekend - payment of lucrative housing allowances and bonuses to senior police officers - that were ended for new recruits in 1994.
Paul Hutcheon revealed that chief constables are still receiving an outdated property perk - the total bill for which runs to millions of pounds a year.
MPs and MSPs are rightly querying why senior officiers are still receiving these payments - long after the case for making them has disappeared.
Before September 1994 - police officers were granted an allowance that contributed to their housing costs, but the government scrapped the the handout for new recruits - presumably on the basis that no other public service workers were treated this way.
But existing beneficiaries kept the payment - which can work out at around £3000 a year for ordinary beat police - and nearly £6000 per annum for chief constables.
And the allowance can still benefit officers who have been promoted to senior roles - since 1994 - and are now in jobs that attract six-figure salaries.
Figures released by each force show the allowance is being given to most of the country’s chief constables.
Scotland’s biggest force, Strathclyde Police, is facing a multi-million pound funding gap in the next four years, yet it shelled out £8.1 million last year in housing and rent allowances to officers.
For example, Chief Constable Stephen House, who earns around £178,000 a year - received £9,132 through the housing perk over four years.
In addition, House received £34,243 in bonuses between 2008 and 2010, while his deputy Neil Richardson took home a performance top-up last year of £11,447.
The picture is similar across the rest of Scotland - and no doubt south of the border too.
The information was unearthed using Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation - and goes to show that the Scotland's public services still have a two-tiered workforce - where some groups of workers continue to be treated much more favourably than others.
Paul Hutcheon revealed that chief constables are still receiving an outdated property perk - the total bill for which runs to millions of pounds a year.
MPs and MSPs are rightly querying why senior officiers are still receiving these payments - long after the case for making them has disappeared.
Before September 1994 - police officers were granted an allowance that contributed to their housing costs, but the government scrapped the the handout for new recruits - presumably on the basis that no other public service workers were treated this way.
But existing beneficiaries kept the payment - which can work out at around £3000 a year for ordinary beat police - and nearly £6000 per annum for chief constables.
And the allowance can still benefit officers who have been promoted to senior roles - since 1994 - and are now in jobs that attract six-figure salaries.
Figures released by each force show the allowance is being given to most of the country’s chief constables.
Scotland’s biggest force, Strathclyde Police, is facing a multi-million pound funding gap in the next four years, yet it shelled out £8.1 million last year in housing and rent allowances to officers.
For example, Chief Constable Stephen House, who earns around £178,000 a year - received £9,132 through the housing perk over four years.
In addition, House received £34,243 in bonuses between 2008 and 2010, while his deputy Neil Richardson took home a performance top-up last year of £11,447.
The picture is similar across the rest of Scotland - and no doubt south of the border too.
The information was unearthed using Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation - and goes to show that the Scotland's public services still have a two-tiered workforce - where some groups of workers continue to be treated much more favourably than others.
