SNP concession over police numbers

The Scottish Government today lodged amendments to the 2008/09 Budget Bill.

These amendments will deliver:

- #10m to begin the process of recruiting 500 Police officers in addition to the 500 new recruits already announced by the Scottish Government and the substantial number of officers to be retained or redeployed
- #4.3m extra for the Climate Challenge Fund
The extra funding for Police recruitment is part of an additional package of funding of #40 million over the next three years that will allow the recruitment of 1,000 additional police officers by March 2011.

Great news, the Tories have been lobbying the Government for months on this and ever proposed serious motions at the Finance Committee unlike, as documented here, both members of the Lib Lab pact.