18/12/2015 Reporting Scotland

Axing civilian staff at Police Scotland to save money

and switching police officers from operational to back-room

That's the view of the Inspector of Constabulary in his annual report.

The force is still facing an overspend of ?25 million

this year, but spending watchdogs have warned that the deficit

could more than treble in four years.

The failure by police to respond for Correspondent, Reevel Alderson.

The failure by police to respond for three days to a road accident on the

M nine was just one of a series of difficulties faced by the National

force in recent months. The driver and his girlfriend both died as a

result of the accident. Changes to call handling including the loss of

civilian posts following the creation of police Scotland have

been blamed for the error. We were ordered to save the force money. The

inspector of Constabulary in his annual report said that one effect

of the cuts has been police officers pulled off operational roles to

fulfil back office duties. Was the report has highlighted is that if

this is something that goes on further then qualified police staff

who add value to bulletin will be lost. What a report is saying is for

police Scotland to be able to look ahead with the police authority,

what kind of policing does it need to deliver and how best to deliver

that. Unions said the warrant making civilian workers need target for

financial savings would not be the best value for money and that is

proved correct. These police officers will be less skilled, less

trained, the move onto other posts within, what you do have with a

police staff workforce is people who are loyal and stay with the

organisation for the length of their service. New recruits to the police

service, but the spending watchdog ordered Scotland said the financial

outlook for the force is far from clear, they say there could be a

funding gap of ?85 million in four years' time. But the Scottish

Government said this week's budget giving extra cash to help the

reorganisation process would put police Scotland on a sustainable

footing. The Scottish government has

announced a plan to give anyone with a terminal illness

access to specialist care. The vision's been outlined as part

of a ?3.5 million strategy Saint Margaret of Scotland Hospice

in Clydebank provides care for those with serious illnesses as well as

support for those who are terminally ill, known as palliative care.

Jeff's brother Mike is being cared for the year, he says it is a vital

service. All of the staff and the facilities they have, and the care,

it is absolutely marvellous. If it was a Hotel, I mean, you would think

it was luxury. The war is a blend of single rooms and multiple occupancy.

The problem is that demand for palliative care is out shipping

supply. There are more people who are in need of palliative care than

those who receive it and I think that the figure that was given was

around 10,000 people deserve palliative care who are not

currently receiving that. Currently there is huge demand for the kind of

specialist care services offered by hospices like this one, but getting

access to the services across Scotland is not always that easy.

Now the Scottish Government has come up with a plan to address that.

Today the Scottish cup and announced that aim to give everyone in

Scotland who needed access to palliative care by 2021. It also

said patients would be given the opportunity to make clear their

dying wishes at an early stage. And there will be extra training for NHS

and social care departments. So can all this be achieved? Everyone will

have to play a part in five years is not a long time but it is an

ambitious statement and everyone is willing to put in the time and

effort to make it work cause it is so important that people who are

dealing with a terminal illness get the palliative care that they need.

The Scottish Government wants to start seeing the plans come to

fruition by April next year, it is an ambitious strategy but one that

ministers say they are determined to make happen.

A third patient has died, after developing a respiratory virus

at Scotland's largest cancer hospital.

The patient was one of seven diagnosed with the virus,

following treatment at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer

The ward involved has re-opened, but patients who have been treated

there this month are being contacted as a precaution.

The last remaining Church of Scotland school in the world

What makes it even more unusual is that it teaches Christian,

Muslim and Jewish children together in an attempt to create

an environment of tolerance, despite the tensions.

Fiona Walker has been to Israel to find out why the Church

of Scotland is running a school in the Holy Land

Amongst the religious conflict, that defines the Middle East, like

something of a surprise. It is nativity rehearsal time at this

school. The Nativity is a Christian tradition, of course, but about a

Jewish family. And Joseph is being played by a pupil who is Muslim.

In the great six Hebrew class it is the turn of a Muslim boy to light a

candle in the Jewish festival of Chanukah. Learning about different

faiths helps the children understand each other. We are all friends here

and, I am Christian, he is Muslim, we are all together as friends. The

state of Israel can be bold, just including all sorts of people and it

can be beautiful as it is in this class, as it is in this school. That

pretty much sums up party are told about the ethos of the school,

whereas pupils in Israeli state schools are mostly taught

separately, here the Church of Scotland is bringing people

together. This is a grade for class going on, but this is not just a

classroom, we are underground and this is a bomb shelter. The children

have to be able to get in here within 90 seconds of a siren going

on, which gives you the context in which these pupils are living. In

fact, this school was set up by a Scottish woman, before the Middle

East problems we know of today. Scottish woman, before the Middle

on earth is the Church of Scotland doing running a school

on earth is the Church of Scotland With this school in particular,

because it was given to us in a With this school in particular,

continue to look after that. there is a real sense of needing to

keep a presence here and we felt that was very important as a church.

At the time when we were giving the other products -- properties away,

to keep all of this one. Too young to fully understand the politics,

these children sing jingle Bells in Arabic before going home. Home to

their life in a divided land. The holy land.

Good evening, it is a mild one, where is all of our cold air? It is

in the Arctic and try to come down. We have these southerly winds just

feeding into these conditions. It is mild again tonight. At this point in

September -- in December we stewed sea temperatures in the low

single-digit but in this coming night they will be in teens. That is

how we start the morning. With that milder coming up from the self a lot

of cloud around as we saw today. The weather we have quite breezy from

the south, particularly on the coastline. To start the day tomorrow

it is cloudy and damp, windy, too, but that rain will slowly edge away.

And thanks to those relatively strong southerly winds, the cloud

should break strong southerly winds, the cloud

brighter, the Central Belt and towards the north-east of

Aberdeenshire as well. The overnight rain shifting self across the UK

tomorrow so for part of the North rain shifting self across the UK

England, Wales and in towards the south west it is fairly brief,

further south-east it is more dry but 15, maybe 16 degrees for us here

in Scotland. There will be some showers around and some cloud

despite any brightness coming through. It is Saturday, staying

busy with those showers and come Saturday night in other band of rain

edging in towards the central belt making for a wet Saturday night.

Think ahead towards Sunday and a fairly disturbed weather once again,

when the at times, some rain but temperatures are back on the way

down. A cloudy, showery Day. Those showers merging to form longer

spells of rain but there should be some brightness out with showers,

too. Temperatures will go back to somewhere closer to where they

should be for the time of year but tonight very mild and tomorrow, too.

From everyone here in Glasgow and around the country, good night and