By Chris McCall

Copyright dailyrecord

Police Scotland has warned it could not afford to enforce a crackdown on Scots paying for sex if MSPs were to vote in favour of criminalisation. The national constabulary said it had “not previously budgeted” for a change in the law regarding prostitution – and expected that “all costs associated would be funded by the Scottish Government”. Alba MSP Ash Regan is pushing legislation at Holyrood which would hit sex buyers with fines of up to £10,000 and possible jail sentences. The former SNP justice minister also wants to quash the historic convictions of prostitutes. In a written submission to the Scottish Parliament, police said the legislation could cost the force more than £500,000 during its first three years of implementation. It noted: “Police Scotland are currently carrying out a Legislation Impact Assessment around the implementation of the Prostitution Act which includes a detailed assessment of the financial opportunities and capital costs associated with the Act in its current form. “Capital costs are currently estimated to be around £112,500 and capacity/opportunity costs are estimated to be around £524,200 over the first three years of implementation. This is a conservative estimate given the information available in the Bill.” The submission continues: “The associated costs of this bill introduce changes for the force not previously budgeted for and the expectation is that all costs associated would be funded by Scottish Government”. Police Scotland has previously declared its support for a clampdown on “exploitation” and has also thrown its weight behind proposals to decriminalise selling sex . In their response to the Bill, the Specialist Crime Division of Police Scotland wrote: “Police Scotland are fully supportive that buying sex is a form of exploitation and should be covered by law.” A spokesperson for the force later confirmed this means they support criminalising sex buying. Regan told the Record: “Police Scotland and the Scottish public both understand and strongly support the principle behind my Bill – that criminalising the purchase of sex acts as a powerful deterrent to men who might otherwise feel emboldened by anonymity to exploit vulnerable women. “My Unbuyable Bill ensures that Scotland cannot – and will not – turn a blind eye to commercial sexual exploitation simply because of a lack of investment in protecting women and girls. “It is the Government’s duty to ensure Police Scotland has the tools and resources it needs to uphold the law and keep everyone in Scotland – even by Police Scotland’s own projections this would be a tiny fraction of less that one per cent of their budget to ensure women and girls live in a safer Scotland.” Sex worker charity National Ugly Mugs is opposed to criminalising the buying of sex and warned any clampdown would be unworkable. Lynsey Walton, chief executive of National Ugly Mugs, said: “Police Scotland has confirmed what sex worker organisations warned from the start – this bill is unaffordable, undeliverable, and unsafe. “The force itself says it would need a government bailout to enforce it, while the Crown Office says prosecutions are unworkable, and support services say they cannot deliver what’s being promised. “This bill would pour millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money into a failed model that makes sex workers less safe, while stripping resources from frontline services that people actually need.” To sign up to the Daily R ecord Politics newsletter, click here