Ministers are considering abolishing the historic role of Her Majesty�s Chief Inspector of Constabulary in its present form.

Ministers are considering abolishing the historic role of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary in its present form.

Paddy Tomkins, the current HMCIC whose two-year tenure has proven controversial, retires in April and his post has not been advertised because it is "under review".

The £180,000-a-year role, established under the Police (Scotland) Act 1857, is prominent in providing advice to ministers and holding Scotland's eight forces and other police bodies to account.

It is thought the salary, remit and specifications of the job are likely to change, despite the fact that the role is written into statute.

Ministers are considering amending the role in line with the reform of other regulatory bodies such as the Social Work Inspectorate Agency, following the Crerar report.

Ministers announced last year that several public service watchdogs are to be abolished or amalgamated.

The changes will reduce the number of scrutiny bodies from 29 to 23, with many accepting new responsibilities. Several are unaffected, including those funded by the Scottish Parliament.

John Swinney, the Finance Secretary, said in December: "In the current economic climate it is more important than ever that all public services actively contribute to increasing sustainable economic growth. We need every ounce of effort to go on delivering first-class public services."

This followed the 2007 report by Professor Lorne Crerar into public body scrutiny arrangements, which found too much duplication in scrutiny bodies.

Officials say the role of chief inspector is likely to be changed following a recommendation from Mr Tomkins that the Government create a national forum chaired by the justice secretary to "bring all those with responsibility for the governance of policing together to manage the most nationally significant policing risks and issues".

In future some of the work of the inspectorate could be carried out by other agencies, such as Audit Scotland.

Bill Skelly, the Assistant Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland, appointed late last year on a two-year secondment from Lothian and Borders Police, will continue the work of the agency after Mr Tomkins retires.

Mr Tomkins has courted praise and controversy with his calls for a single national police force - rather than Scotland's current eight forces.

In 2007 he called for a Scotland-wide "supra-force" dealing with counter-terrorism, firearms support and motorway patrols.