A COP watchdog boss has raised the alarm over who will pay for the policing of the Commonwealth Games, we can reveal.
Martyn Evans, chair of the Scottish Police Authority, says he has no idea who will be stumping up the cash to pay for the force at scaled back event set for Glasgow in 2026.
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The city has stepped in to host a slimmed-down version after the Australian state of Victoria pulled out over spiralling cost worries.
Mr Evans said: “I think this issue is at the moment outside our risk appetite and that’s not because of the competence of policing.
“It’s not because you can’t tell us what the opportunity costs are, it’s outside our risk appetite because we don’t know who the funder will be.
“And this will incur additional funds over our current budget which is not included for a Commonwealth Games delivery by Police Scotland or by any forces to give you mutual aid.
“So I want to have this issue discussed at every board meeting and through the resources committee and I want, at pains, to understand who is guaranteeing the funding for the policing of the Commonwealth Games.
“Because there is at the moment,as I understand it, no funding under our control and we have control of the policing budget, no funding for this event.”
Mr Evans went on to highlight the contrast between the ten years it took to prepare for the Glasgow 2014 Games to the two years to get ready for 2026.
And he pointed to the preparations for COP26 when the UK Government provided a full funding pledge for the massive UN environmental conference.
SPA chief executive Lynn Brown reminded today’s board meeting of her involvement in securing and working on the 2014 Games in her previous role at Glasgow City Council.
She said: “The problem for me at the moment is I am not sure who we are dealing with.
“Is it the Games, Commonwealth Games Scotland, is it the federations, the government and that’s what we absolutely need to naildown – who makes the decisions around what is required?”
She added: “We really need to get agreement, who is calling the shots on this and what guarantees are they going to give us in terms of finance?”
Funding concerns emerged as a top cop warned the Games will stretch force resources across Scotland at a time when many officers and civilian staff will be planning annual leave over the summer months.
Deputy Chief Constable Jane Connors said: “Full details are still yet to be agreed with Commonwealth Games Scotland and the Commonwealth Game Federation.
“So until details are known and we are absolutely clear and we’ve been able to engage we are not going to know exactly what a scaled back Games looks like.
“However as everybody knows Police Scotland has a very well deserved and enviable reputation in delivering and preparing for major events.”
She added: “Regardless of the scaled back Games it will impact on business as usual.
“We absolutely know that, both financially [and] in terms of resources.
“The Games fall over a peak period of annual leave so we need to plan ahead now.
“We are not going to be able to manage this locally, we are going to have to do mobilisation across the country to be able to bring resources.”
Jo Farrell later told the meeting reckons the Games could derail some parts of the three-year policing vision she unveiled this week.
The Chief Constable admitted some of the milestones set out in the ambitious document may take longer to reach than expected due to the hosting of the 2026 showpiece.
She said: “I think with complete candour here there will be an impact in terms of delivery on some of those ambitions.
“They may take a bit longer than we initially anticipated because the full impact of the Games have been seen before across the organisation and we know through things like COP26 how resource intensive these types of events can be.”
We told how athletics fans face a race to get tickets for major Glasgow 2026 events — at the Commonwealth Games’ smallest-ever venue.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
The city’s Scotstoun Stadium, which is due to host track and field competitions, has room for only 9,708 spectators.
Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid previously insisted: “We are confident of delivering a world-class event to packed crowds in Glasgow, with the world’s sporting stars providing inspirational moments for millions of spectators.”
