Chamber and committees

The following table has been produced in answer to the above question. It should be noted that these figures relate to charges reported to COPFS, rather than individual drivers. COPFS uses a live, operational database to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland. It is designed to meet business needs in the processing of criminal cases, rather than for statistical analysis and the information within it is structured accordingly.

The database has been searched for charges received by COPFS under the Scottish Government classification as mobile phone driving offences. This covers offences under S41D(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

During the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2026 the following charges were reported to COPFS in each financial year (1 April to 31 March).

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The recruitment and deployment of police officers are matters for the Chief Constable, with oversight by the Scottish Police Authority.

All legal advice is confidential and it is a very long-established convention that legal advice provided to the Scottish Government is not disclosed.

The Scottish Government received a collaborative application from a range of Justice partners, including Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, through the invest to save initiative, for funding to support the development of a system-wide business case and roadmap for long-term digital and service modernisation across the criminal justice system.

While that application did not prove successful, the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform and I have recently met and discussed the proposal with the Chief Executive of Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service, who led on this work, and the Crown Agent. In recognising the importance of the challenge outlined within the bid, we have invited the development of a further justice system proposal, out with the invest to save structure.

It would not be appropriate to comment on the Loch Kemp Pumped Storage Hydro proposed development, as this is a live application under consideration by the Scottish Ministers.

It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on contractual arrangements between two businesses. We remain firmly committed to supporting the yard in securing a long-term sustainable future while maintaining shipbuilding capability on the Clyde.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02593 on 11 September 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

All legal advice is confidential and it is a very long-established convention that legal advice provided to the Scottish Government is not disclosed.

I refer the member to answers provided to questions S7W-02915 on 17 September 2026 and S7W-02917 on 18 September 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government’s ambition is for a Scotland without the need for food banks. No one should have to compromise on food or other essentials and people should have sufficient money to access these with dignity and choice.

To support this, across this Parliament we will go further to protect and expand our cost-of-living package. Putting more money into people’s pockets – through maximising the support they are entitled to or cutting everyday costs – is one of the most direct ways we can tackle poverty, protect people from the cost crisis and ensure they have the resources they need to thrive. That aim is built on a solid foundation, with Scotland having the most generous cost-of-living package anywhere in the UK.

Specifically in 2026-27, we will allocate around £3.5 billion to policies that tackle poverty and the cost of living, including maintaining our investment in the Scottish Welfare Fund at £41 million, funding free bus travel for over 2.4 million people and helping households save an estimated £450 a year on energy bills. We are also investing more than £18 million for the provision of free income maximisation support, welfare and debt advice.

Over the last 15 years, we have committed around £1.5 billion to mitigate the impacts of UK Government policy such as the bedroom tax and benefit cap, and we call on the UK Government to follow the Scottish Government’s lead to protect and enhance the social security safety.

On 29 September 2026, we published the final evaluation of our Cash-First Programme, which aimed to improve urgent access to emergency income and reduce the need for food banks. We are currently considering the findings to help inform future policy decisions.