Question reference: S6W-12314
- Date lodged: 17 November 2022
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Current status: Answered by Keith Brown on 29 November 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the (a) number and (b) percentage of voluntary resignations among police officers in Scotland in each of the last five years, and how this compares with England and Wales.
Answer
From data provided by Police Scotland, the Scottish Government can confirm that as a proportion of the workforce in 2021-22 the rate of voluntary resignation among officers in Scotland was less than half that in England and Wales.
The following tables show that, as a proportion of the workforce, rates of voluntary resignations among police officers have been consistently lower in Scotland over the last five years compared to England and Wales
Leavers and Leaver Rates (excluding transfers)- Scotland | ||||||
Leavers (excluding transfers) | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
Normal retirement | 418 | 480 | 494 | 576 | 421 | 689 |
Voluntary resignation | 211 | 192 | 181 | 163 | 106 | 177 |
Other (medical retirement, dismissal, death in service) | 115 | 94 | 114 | 85 | 52 | 41 |
Total | 744 | 766 | 789 | 824 | 579 | 907 |
Officer numbers at start of year (31-03-2021 for 2021-22) | 17,317 | 17,256 | 17,170 | 17,251 | 17,431 | 17,283 |
Leaver rates | ||||||
Normal retirement | 2.4% | 2.8% | 2.9% | 3.3% | 2.4% | 4.0% |
Voluntary resignation | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.0% |
other | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
Total Leaver rate | 4.3% | 4.4% | 4.6% | 4.8% | 3.3% | 5.2% |
Leavers and Leaver Rates (excluding transfers) - England and Wales | ||||||
Leavers (excluding transfers) | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
Normal retirement | 4,507 | 4,747 | 4,492 | 4,169 | 3,429 | 4,134 |
Voluntary resignation | 2,035 | 1,995 | 2,175 | 2,363 | 1,996 | 3,433 |
Other (medical retirement, dismissal, death in service) | 933 | 762 | 721 | 609 | 593 | 550 |
Total | 7,475 | 7,504 | 7,388 | 7,141 | 6,018 | 8,117 |
Officer numbers at start of year (31-03-2021 for 2021-22) | 124,066 | 123,142 | 122,405 | 123,189 | 129,110 | 135,301 |
Leaver rates | ||||||
Normal retirement | 3.6% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 3.4% | 2.7% | 3.1% |
Voluntary resignation | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 1.5% | 2.5% |
other | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
Total Leaver rate | 6.0% | 6.1% | 6.0% | 5.8% | 4.7% | 6.0% |