Budget and Finance

The Scottish Police Authority has a statutory duty to set and approve a budget for policing in Scotland within the allocation provided by the Scottish Government. Prior to the beginning of each financial year, the Authority must provide to the Chief Constable details of how it intends to allocate the financial resources it expects to have available in respect of that financial year.

The SPA must also set and approve a budget for the functions which the Authority is directly accountable for, including its corporate governance, Forensic Services and Independent Custody Visiting.

The Board of the SPA closely monitors the delivery of these budgets across Police Scotland, Forensic Services and SPA's own governance function to ensure the effective delivery of policing within available resource. This regular monitoring and oversight takes place at the SPA's Resources Committee and Authority meetings. For dates of meetings, visit the meetings section.

You can find the approved 2022-23 Budget for Police Scotland and the SPA on the link below:

2022-23 Budget - approved at the Authority meeting on 23 March 2022

The Scottish Police Authority must also produce and submit to the Scottish Parliament an Annual Report and Accounts. Reports and Accounts for previous years are available to view from the following links:

Additional finance documents: