Police Scotland will need Government funding to enforce law criminalising buying sex

Police Scotland has warned that it will not be able to afford to enforce a Bill criminalising the buying of sex if it is passed by MSPs.

The force has said that it expects the changes to cost over £500,000 in the first three years of its implementation.

Ash Regan’s ‘Unbuyable Bill’ would shift the criminality for buying sex services from the people who sell them to the people who buy them. It would introduce fines of up to £10,000 and possible jail sentences for buyers.

The Prostitution (Offences and Support)(Scotland) Act would also quash historic convictions for prostitution.

Police Scotland has said it is “fully supportive” of the Bill, but that it would need financial help to cover the costs that were not previously budgeted for.

The Specialist Crime Division told the Government consultation that it believes “buying sex is a form of exploitation and should be covered by law”.

However, in a separate response from Police Scotland about financing the Bill, it said the proposed changes are not currently funded.

“The associated costs of this Bill introduce changes for the force not previously budgeted for, and the expectation is that all costs associated would be funded by the Scottish Government,” Police Scotland wrote.

The Scottish Government estimated that the Bill, if approved in its current form, would cost Police Scotland around £100,170. This was quoted as the “high estimate”.

In its financial consultation response, the force argued that the figure does “not completely reflect the tasks and work that would be required by Police Scotland to be operationally ready” for the changes.

Police Scotland said it is currently carrying out its own legislation impact assessment around the implementation of the Bill, and they estimate that the changes would cost around £524,200 over the first three years in capacity and “opportunity costs”.

Police Scotland estimated that it would cost an additional £112,500 in capital costs.

“Our supplied figures are the best estimate given the level of detail at this stage and reflect the initial thoughts and assessment on the impact to Police Scotland,” the written response said.

“As described, these are subject to change out with the control of Police Scotland. To be clear, the costs as set out by the Scottish Government in the financial memorandum were not accurate.”

The force said it would be able to make “more accurate predications” about costs and impact when there is a clearer picture of the legislation.

Regan hopes the legislation will be passed before parliament breaks for next year’s Holyrood election.