Martyn Evans and Lynn Brown, chairman and chief executive of the SPA respectively, will also give evidence as part of the committee’s scrutiny of the Scottish budget.

Shona Robison, the SNP’s finance secretary, last month unveiled £500 million in emergency spending cuts for this financial year and is expected to announce further cuts in the 2025/26 Scottish budget, which will be revealed in December.

But the number of police officers in Scotland has already fallen to a 15-year low, with the total falling by almost 400 in the year to June 30. The force had 27 fewer officers than in March 2007, just before the SNP came to power.

Police Scotland previously announced it was rolling out a pilot scheme in the north-east of Scotland under which certain “minor” crimes would not be investigated if they were deemed to require manpower excessive.

“Damage to the front line”

The force’s submission to the committee said: “If funding is not sufficient, there would be significant operational consequences and the number of officers and staff would decline in a way that would harm our first-line capability. line. »

The Scottish Government “asked us to model two scenarios”, the first on a lump sum cash settlement. This means the force would receive the same amount as this year, with no increase to account for inflation.

The force should “absorb” the cost of the annual salary increase, the document says, meaning “savings” should be made elsewhere. This would “seriously” harm the reforms planned to improve the service, he warns.

The second modeled scenario of a 3 per cent reduction “would have serious operational consequences, causing significant disruption to frontline services and would compromise our ability to provide effective policing across Scotland”.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Work is underway on the 2025/26 budget, which will be published on December 4.

“We will continue to work with Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority to identify options to address the current financial challenges, whilst protecting service delivery to ensure we continue to have a safe, protected and resilient country. »