A NEW report suggests security for the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this year could cost “several hundred million pounds”.
Papers to go before the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) board this week have outlined the potential cost of the event, which will bring heads of state from around the world to Scotland in November.
The papers say “dialogue remains ongoing” with the UK Government as to who will foot the bill for security. The Scottish Government has previously said Westminster should pick up the tab, with Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf stating the UK Government should fund the entire security provision.
It will be the largest summit the UK has held, with up to 200 world leaders expected for the final weekend and around 30,000 delegates in total. According to the papers, detailed financial planning is under way, with discussions between the police authority and the Cabinet Office in Westminster ongoing.
READ MORE: Home Office tries to justify prejudice in Right to Rent appeal
In September, when Glasgow was announced as the host city for the summit, Police Scotland said the costs to the force would be in the “tens of millions”, while October estimates placed the cost at £100 million.
It is not clear what has caused the increase in expected costs. The new estimate has used other events, such as the Nato summit in Wales in 2014, as a baseline for costings.
The report said: “Taking into consideration the planning assumptions and based on previous major summits/conferences (eg Nato Summit Wales 2014), the initial costings demonstrate that the event will cost potentially several hundred million pounds.
“Detailed financial planning is being developed and dialogue remains ongoing with the Cabinet Office relative to the cost recovery model that will be utilised.”
The report also outlines plans for reinforcements from other forces to be sent to Scotland for what is described as “undoubtedly the largest mass mobilisation of police officers in the UK”, adding it will present “extensive logistical challenges”.
The Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow will play host to the event, being handed over to the United Nations for the summit’s entirety.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel