The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S7W-02909

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many rape and serious sexual offence cases are currently awaiting trial while the accused is on bail.

Question reference: S7W-02911

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether accused individuals on bail in rape and attempted rape cases wait longer for trial than those remanded in custody, and, if so, by how many days on average.

Statistics on justice journey times are published in the Journey Times in the Scottish Criminal Justice System bulletin and accompanying dashboard:

Criminal justice: journey time statistics.

The publication includes information on the time taken for accused individuals to progress through different stages of the criminal justice system, including cases involving rape and attempted rape.

However, we do not hold data on whether an accused person was on bail or remanded in custody, nor do we hold the information required to identify which cases proceeded to an evidence-led trial. Consequently, we are unable to provide times to trial for accused individuals by bail status or assess whether waiting times differ between those on bail and those remanded in custody.

Question reference: S7W-02551

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras are operated by the Scottish Government, its agencies and public bodies, excluding those operated by Police Scotland.

Traffic Scotland is a service provided by Transport Scotland, the Scottish Government’s national transport agency. Traffic Scotland collects and distributes real-time traffic and travel information for the entire Scottish trunk road and motorway network. Traffic Scotland previously used ANPR camera technology to provide journey time information across the trunk road network until 2022. This service is now provided by a third party data source and there are no operational ANPR cameras used in the delivery of the Traffic Scotland service.

Police Scotland use ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) technology to help detect, deter and disrupt criminal activity at a local, force, regional and national level. This includes travelling criminals (those using the road network to avoid being caught), organised crime groups and terrorists.

ANPR provides lines of enquiry and evidence in the investigation of crime and is used by forces throughout Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A record for all vehicles passing by a camera is stored, including those for vehicles that are not known to be of interest at the time of the read. At present ANPR cameras nationally, submit on average around 60 million ANPR read records to national ANPR systems daily.

Question reference: S7W-02912

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many rape and attempted rape cases proceeded to trial where the accused was (a) on bail and (b) remanded in custody, and what the median time was from first appearance to trial in each category, in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S7O-00248

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on ensuring that families, particularly those in rural areas, have choice and flexibility in accessing childcare services

Question reference: S7W-02556

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether its strategy for tackling violence against women and girls considers the potential misuse of police surveillance technologies, including Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), to facilitate stalking or coercive control.

Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls (VAWG), recognises that technology can be used to directly track, monitor, and facilitate violence against women and girls. While Equally Safe does not refer specifically to Automatic Number Plate Recognition, it acknowledges the wider risks associated with the misuse of technology and recognises that action to address VAWG must take account of these evolving risks.

Question reference: S7W-02561

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland has considered using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) data in combination with facial recognition or other biometric technologies, and, if so, for what purposes.

The deployment of resources is a matter for the Chief Constable based on operational priorities. This is also very clearly set out in the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012.

The consideration to use data acquired by Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology in combination with facial recognition and other biometric technologies would be an operational matter for Police Scotland, under the scrutiny of the Scottish Police Authority.

Question reference: S7W-02554

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential for Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to be misused to facilitate stalking, harassment or coercive control.

Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls (VAWG), recognises that technology can be used to directly track, monitor, and facilitate violence against women and girls. While Equally Safe does not refer specifically to Automatic Number Plate Recognition, it acknowledges the wider risks associated with the misuse of technology and recognises that action to address VAWG must take account of these evolving risks.

Question reference: S7W-02558

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered reducing the period for which Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) data relating to vehicles that are not of interest is retained.

Question reference: S7W-02559

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential for Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) data to reveal whether an individual has visited sensitive locations, including healthcare facilities, places of worship, political meetings or domestic abuse support services.

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Question reference: S7W-02909

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