Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government continues to have discussions with Police Scotland about the illegal use of off-road vehicles. These discussions respect the principle that operational policing including deployment of resources is a matter for the Chief Constable acting independently.

In particular, the Scottish Government has been working collaboratively with Police Scotland to explore legislative change, in line with our manifesto. This builds on work underway to review the secondary legislation governing the retention, disposal and recovery fees for vehicles seized under devolved powers.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government. The number of vehicles of any type seized due to antisocial use is not held. The data we receive from Police Scotland is a simple count of the number and type of crimes and offences recorded. We do not hold further details as to whether any of these involved quad bikes or off-road motorcycles.

Police Scotland may be able to provide this data upon request.

Where reported to police, a knife-related assault within a school would typically involve two crimes being recorded – one for possessing a bladed/pointed article within a school and a second for the assault. Information is not held centrally on the volume of such incidents, as the data provided by Police Scotland to the Scottish Government for the Recorded Crime Official Statistics is a simple count of the number of recorded crimes and offences, for each local authority. Therefore, whilst both crimes in the above scenario would be counted within the statistics, they cannot be linked within the data we receive.

However, the Scottish Government collects information on staff experiences of use of weapons in schools, towards staff and pupils, through the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research (BISSR).

The Scottish Government has had ongoing discussions with Police Scotland regarding the antisocial and illegal use of quad bikes, off-road motorcycles and scrambler bikes, while respecting the principle that operational policing, including the deployment of resources, is a matter for the Chief Constable acting independently.

In particular, officials are actively reviewing the existing powers available to Police Scotland. In this work officials have been working collaboratively with Police Scotland to explore where changes may be required. A significant part of the relevant legal framework, including road traffic law, vehicle registration, and the regulation of the import and sale of e-bikes and e-scooters, is reserved to the UK Government. We continue to engage with the UK Government and press the case for action.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on school exclusions due to weapon possession.

Statistics on the number of exclusions by the reason for exclusion are published in School exclusion statistics - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government commissioned an Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour which discussed this topic. Its report is available on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/report-independent-working-group-antisocial-behaviour/pages/23/. The Group noted that attention must be focused on addressing the broader societal factors that contribute to antisocial behaviour across all age groups, such as poverty.

The Scottish Government’s assessment of changes in classroom behaviour since 2020 is primarily informed by the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research (BISSR), which provides robust, nationally representative evidence on behaviour in Scottish schools.

BISSR is externally commissioned research and has been undertaken in five waves to date: 2006, 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2023. This programme of research provides the Scottish Government with a robust evidence base to understand changes in pupil behaviour and to inform the development of policy and practice.

There is a known relationship between persistent non-attendance, exclusion and anti-social behaviour. That is why the Scottish Government is clear that good school attendance is vital for children and young people. Schools and local authorities must do all they can to ensure that children and young people are included, engaged and involved in their learning.

The national guidance on school attendance was updated in March and reaffirms the importance of engaging and supporting children, young people and their families to secure regular school attendance, and is clear that education authority attendance procedures must be underpinned by robust safeguarding and child protection procedures.

Our national guidance also recognises the importance of strong, trusting relationships between staff and children and young people, along with collaboration with local police and youth services, as appropriate, in reducing some forms of absence and helping to prevent children and young people from being at risk.

The Scottish Government has provided record funding to local authorities for 2026–27. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on antisocial behaviour, on the basis of local needs and priorities.

The Scottish Government complements this with specific national community safety interventions, for example, record funding for Phase 7 of CashBack for Communities, which supports diversionary activities for young people across Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on complaints recorded by Police Scotland.

The number of complaints recorded by local authorities concerning antisocial behaviour is also not held by the Scottish Government.

Under section 1 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 local authorities and Police Scotland are under a legal duty to maintain a strategy to tackle antisocial behaviour in their area. This enables a partnership approach that can take account of emerging trends and comparators.