Chamber and committees

In 2024, the Scottish Government commissioned the Improvement Service with support from Assist FM, to map breakfast provision across Scotland. The results of this survey indicate that almost half of all primary and special schools in Scotland currently provide breakfasts in some form.

Existing breakfast club provision is delivered through a mixed model of delivery via a range of service providers including public, private and third sector. Therefore, we do not hold a data set or register of breakfast club delivery at individual local authority level, although this data may be available locally.

The Islands Programme awarded £120,000 in 2021-22, £72,000 in 2022-23 and £700,000 in 2023-24 to infrastructure projects supporting the delivery of housing units on islands.

Housing developments are not commonly the focus of proposals submitted for Islands Programme funding.

The ScotRail HSTs fleet is safe, and will continue to remain safe; this has been validated by an independent review of the HSTs’ design and construction, and endorsed by the industry safety regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.

Operational safety is a matter for ScotRail Trains and Network Rail, who are jointly responsible for the management of safety risks on Scotland’s Railway.

Based on Scottish Government forecasts for 2029-30 the total Fiscal Resource Budget is forecast to be £60.2 billion. Social Security expenditure for 2029-30, as forecast by the Scottish Fiscal Commission, is £8.9 billion. Therefore, Social Security expenditure is estimated to be 14.8 per cent of the total Fiscal Resource Budget in 2029-30.

COPFS is a key partner in the multi-agency work flowing from the Scottish Government’s Equally Safe strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls, including domestic abuse. Effectively tackling domestic abuse is an organisational priority for both Police Scotland and COPFS.

Police Scotland and COPFS have an established Joint protocol in domestic abuse cases which is publicly available on the COPFS website. The Protocol is not confined to one COPFS office. It outlines the procedures and practices to be followed by Police Scotland and COPFS in the investigation, reporting and prosecution of allegations involving domestic abuse throughout Scotland. COPFS’ presumption of prosecution in domestic abuse cases is confirmed by the Statement of prosecution policy in cases involving domestic abuse, also publicly available on the COPFS website. All cases of domestic abuse are referred to the Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service within COPFS.

Victims of domestic abuse are deemed vulnerable witnesses under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (s.271(1)(c)(iv)) and are automatically entitled to special measures to assist them in giving evidence. Cases with vulnerable witnesses are prioritised both by the court in fixing trial and throughout trial preparation by prosecutors.

Information in respect of journey times of cases brought to court is produced by the Scottish Government, using data provided both by COPFS and SCTS. These are national figures and are not produced for individual courts or Procurator Fiscal Offices.

The following table shows the costs incurred for expert witnesses in each of the last 5 years.

COPFS is a national organisation, with 37 offices located across Scotland, including three in the Sheriffdom of Grampian: Aberdeen, Peterhead and Banff. Provision of services to ensure equitable access to justice is therefore delivered nationally.

For those whose first language is not English, COPFS works with partners in the criminal justice system to ensure that those accused of a crime, as well as bereaved relatives, victims and witnesses, have access to high quality interpreting, translation and transcription services when accessing services and has made a public commitment to this. COPFS proactively translates correspondence with victims, witnesses, and bereaved relatives where a language need has been identified; provides interpreters, including British Sign Language interpreters, for victims, witnesses and bereaved relatives who are required to attend at court or wish to follow proceedings during an FAI (Fatal Accident Inquiry); arranges for the translation of key information documents into the top ten languages used by immigrants to Scotland, all of which are available on the COPFS website.

COPFS understands the physical and emotional effects crime can have on victims and the vital role witnesses play in the criminal justice system and is committed to meeting their needs, communicating effectively and recognising any equality and inclusion requirements.

As at 30 November 2024 the number of procurator fiscals working within specialised units based within the Aberdeen Procurator Fiscal Office is:

3 High Court Sexual Offences

2 High Court Hub

4 Serious Casework group, Scottish fatalities Investigations Unit

1 Serious Casework group, COVID deaths investigation team

1 Local Court Management Team

15 Local Court Sheriff and Jury

11 Local Court Summary

The following table details the extradition cases for the last 10 years in which COPFS have been involved.