Justice Committee seeks view on Police and Fire Reform Act

The committee will scrutinise the Police and Fire Reform Act, one of the most significant pieces of legislation since devolution, which sits behind the Scotland-wide organisations. It will look to see if there are parts which could be improved, as well as looking at areas where it is working well.

The committee is planning to engage with the organisations created by the act, as well as those who closely interact with them.

In particular, it is interested in whether the original aims of the act, namely protecting and improving services, equalising access to specialist support and strengthening connections between services and communities, have been met.

Committee convener Margaret Mitchell MSP, said: “The last five years have been a period of unprecedented change in our fire and police services. While undoubtedly there are examples of resilience and partnership working, there have also been some problem areas identified since the mergers.

“In particular, the committee is keen to establish whether the issues faced by the services are to be expected as ‘teething problems’ or whether legislative changes are needed after five years.”

The call for evidence can be found here and runs until 24 May.