Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will decline to lay any orders devolving the management of British Transport Police to the Scottish Government.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Legislative competence for railway policing in Scotland has already been devolved, and the UK Government remains fully committed to supporting an effective and orderly transfer of the functions of the British Transport Police (BTP) in Scotland to Police Scotland. The planned transfer has been delayed and will not now take place on 1 April 2019. The delay, which was announced by Scottish Ministers last month, will provide further time for the Scottish Government to ensure that all of the necessary actions have been completed to deliver a seamless transition which ensures the safety and security of rail passengers and staff.
The Orders necessary to facilitate the transfer of BTP officers and staff to Police Scotland will therefore not now be brought before Parliament in the Autumn as originally planned, but will be brought forward in due course, once a new delivery date for the transfer has been established following a re-planning process.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on safety for passengers travelling from (a) Scotland to England and (b) England to Scotland of the Scottish Government's plans to integrate the British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland.
Answered by Paul Maynard
We are working closely with the Scottish Government, the two police forces and police authorities, through a Joint Programme Board, to ensure that effective arrangements are in place for cross-border railway policing once responsibilities have been transferred, so that we continue to have a railway policing service which protects the safety of passengers.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Scottish Government's plans to integrate the British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland on the delivery of British Transport Police Services in the North of England.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Together with the Scottish Government, we are working closely with the two police forces and police authorities, through a Joint Programme Board, to ensure that the overall level of policing remains seamless and fully effective both sides of the border, including in the North of England.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Scottish Government's plans to integrate the British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland on the delivery of policing on cross-border trains.
Answered by Paul Maynard
We are working closely with the Scottish Government, the two police forces and police authorities, through a Joint Programme Board, to ensure that effective arrangements are in place for cross-border railway policing once responsibilities have been transferred, so that we continue to have a railway policing service which protects the safety of passengers.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for safety in on cross-border trains of the Scottish Government's plans to integrate the British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland.
Answered by Paul Maynard
We are working closely with the Scottish Government, the two police forces and police authorities, through a Joint Programme Board, to ensure that effective arrangements are in place for cross-border railway policing once responsibilities have been transferred, so that we continue to have a railway policing service which protects the safety of passengers.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken with the Scottish Government to assess the effect on railway policing across the border between Scotland and England of the planned integration of British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The UK and Scottish Governments are working together with the two police forces and police authorities through a Joint Programme Board. A central, ongoing focus of that Board is to deliver an orderly transfer of responsibilities and to ensure that the overall level of policing remains seamless and fully effective, including policing across the border.