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LABOUR leader Iain Gray yesterday unveiled radical plans for a single police force and fire brigade to cover the whole of Scotland.

And he wants to reduce the number of health boards from 22 to 14 to help protect frontline services from spending cuts.

Gray also promised 1000 new teaching jobs to boost reading and writing skills as he revealed the policies that will form the foundation of his party's manifesto for the Holyrood election in May.

Speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Oban, he said: "I believe the time has come for a Scottish national police force but with strengthened local accountability for local policing.

"We can save headquarter costs, protect frontline policing."

Gray said organised crime, drug smuggling and terrorism were already tackled at a national level.

The idea of a single Scottish police authority has split forces.

Strathclyde's chief constable Steve House said in July a single force for the whole of Scotland would be the "most effective" use of finances.



But Grampian and Northern police boards have spoken against centralisation.

Gray also called for a shake-up of other public services yesterday.

He said: "We should have a national fire and rescue service too.

"The SNP say they will cut the number of NHS managers. Why so timid? They increased the number of managers in the first place.

"Labour will cut the number of health boards to protect frontline services.

"Scotland has 22 health boards. That is too many. They all have their own IT systems. That is daft.

"We will reduce the number of health boards, starting with the eight specialist boards."

Services such as NHS 24 and the Scottish Ambulance Service would be taken over by other health boards.

Gray also vowed to hire 1000 new teachers to improve child literacy.

He said: "The SNP have cast 2900 newly qualified teachers on the scrapheap.

"And I want to show that we mean business. So I will offer as many of those teachers as possible the chance of training and a contract to join our national literacy and numeracy drive.

"I want to recruit up to 1000 of those teachers and send them in to our schools, where they should be.

"They will use one-to-one teaching and specialist programmes to stop the scandal where kids in Scotland today can leave school unable to read, write or count.

"I will make sure that some of the best teachers Scotland has ever trained will be working in our schools, not sitting at home."

Gray also unveiled plans to merge NHS and social services' care for the elderly.

A single body, the National Care Service, would combine health and social services so OAPs would get more streamlined care.

Today, shadow Scottish secretary Ann McKechin will launch an attack on the Tories for targeting families with the brutal spending cuts.

She will criticise the Government for slashing child benefit as banks get a multimillion pound tax cut.

She'll say: "Over £4billion a year is being cut from direct support to children.

"Does that sound like David Cameron's promise that this would be the most family friendly government ever?"