Under-pressure call centre staff have been hit by further uncertainty after it emerged Police Scotland has ripped up its timetable for control room closures.
An expert has warned Holyrood that morale is already flagging in north and north-east control rooms, where staff have been facing the threat of mothballing for almost two years.
The centres had been slated to close next March but Derek Penman, HM’s Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, told MSPs yesterday that Police Scotland was likely to miss that target, leaving control room workers in limbo.
Dundee is going to absorb the Aberdeen and Inverness control rooms as part of the plan, which has come under fire for proposing to route calls through the central belt and back to the east coast.
Mr Penman said there was no definitive timetable for the closures amid concern the dates may be pushed further back.
Following the M9 tragedy, Police Scotland committed to not closing the Aberdeen and Inverness control rooms until the new Dundee set-up was firmly in place.
Mr Penman said: “The forecast just now is for March 2016 that was originally put for this stage.
“Police Scotland has yet to demonstrate or evidence that and I suspect it may slide down further.”
Lib Dem MSP Alison McInnes suggested that having such an “open ended” timeline for closures was bound to “make the system more unstable”.
Mr Penman, who was briefing the Scottish Parliament’s justice committee on his damning report on call handling, agreed that uncertainty over the future of the control rooms was damaging staff morale.
He said: “I absolutely accept that it may be unsettling for staff to go through this process and it may lead to staff attrition to some extent, but it is also allowing staff to get a more informed picture of where they are.
“The thing that is missing I think for them which is important is the time frame.”
Chief Superintendent Alan Speirs said there are now no dates set for the relocation of north and east services to the central belt.
He said: “While I remain committed to our strategic direction, the implementation of future change will only take place with the scrutiny, oversight and approval of the Scottish Police Authority.”
“Our staff are incredibly committed, work extremely hard and contribute significantly on a daily basis. This consultation is important to them and I greatly value their feedback.”