THE recruitment of 800 officers will be front-loaded by Police Scotland to boost the force's numbers before the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Three intakes – for the whole of 2020/21 – are planned in March, June and August to ensure the number of officers peaks in the lead up to and during the United Nations conference in November.

Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said the force is focused on "ensuring the people of Scotland are kept safe and receive the right level of policing throughout this coming year".

She told a Scottish Police Authority meeting the costs are "directly attributable to COP26".

"The Chief Constable has stated that he will not proceed with this process without explicit agreement that those costs will be met by the UK Government.

READ MORE: Police Scotland still have concerns over COP26 climate event in Glasgow

"By the year end we will have taken on the same number of officers as we usual would in order to maintain our required head count at 17,234."

The move will also free up the force's training college at Tulliallan Castle for accommodation during the event.

A report to the police authority meeting had stated Police Scotland "remains concerned" about the relationship between the UK and Scottish governments, amid uncertainty over who will foot the 'worst case scenario' £250m security bill.

Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins said the Chief Constable's concerns had been around governance, finance and risk.

"While the concerns still remain there has been really good progress made on all fronts and we are seeing a much more positive picture emerging, both at UK and at Scottish Government level," he added.

Deputy Chief Officer David Page said "effectively anything that we've done purely for COP26 we get full [cost] recovery for that".

READ MORE: Police Scotland could face 'staffing crisis' in 2020 amid high-profile events

"We won't spend money unless we're comfortable that we've got the assurances in writing that we need."

Lynn Brown, the police authority's acting chief executive, said negotiations are now in their final phase for the UK Government to pick up the tab, through a mixture of funding via the Scottish Consolidated Fund, drafting in reinforcements from other forces across the country and an accommodation payment from the Foreign Office.

"We're trying to reduce the risk [attached to] the money coming to Scotland but we're hoping to bottom that out in the next few weeks," she added.

Reports over the weekend stated detailed diagrams of the Scottish Event Campus, where COP26 will be held, had been published online.

Mr Higgins said: "That's not unusual, there are many public venues, particularly event venues, where for business reasons floor plans will be made available.

"Prospective people who want to stage an event can go online and see if that venue meets their needs.

"The mitigation steps I had already taken, which are ongoing, will ensure as far as reasonably possible that the SEC is a safe and secure venue."