Chamber and committees

The use of telematics technology on police vehicles is an operational matter for the Chief Constable under the scrutiny of the Scottish Police Authority.

The Law Officers’ role is secured by the Scotland Act 1998 and any changes to that role would require legislation in the UK or Scottish Parliaments depending on any changes proposed. As we have said, the Scottish Government will engage further with the UK Government on any changes that might be considered.

The recruitment and deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable. In 2023, Police Scotland restructuring led to a new establishment figure of around 16,500 to 16,600 officers. The Scottish Government’s record investment of £1.55bn in 2024-25 has enabled Police Scotland to undertake the highest level of recruitment since its inception, bringing officer numbers up to 16,508 at 31 December 2024.

Police Scotland’s three-year Business Plan 2024-2027 aims to make maximum impact with a workforce that has the right skills and capacity to keep people safe. Through workforce modernisation, they will reduce back-office duplication and create capacity to deal with new and increasing threats by moving more officers to frontline roles.

The Chief Constable has been clear that the context of frontline strength goes beyond an overall officer headcount and that of a police workforce which includes police staff.

The total number of hours of other activity carried out in 2023-24 is not held, but relevant information in relation to orders successfully completed is available.

In the financial year 2023-24, 6,742 unpaid work or other activity requirements imposed as part of a Community Payback Order (CPO) were successfully completed. Of these successful requirements, 884,844 hours were completed.

This above information is available from Table 14 from Justice Social Work Statistics in Scotland: 2023-24 – Part 2 - gov.scot.

Of the hours carried out as part of successfully completed unpaid work or other activity requirements in 2023-24, 66,646 hours (8%) were recorded as other activity.

These statistics remain a stark reminder of the unacceptable levels of domestic abuse that occur in Scotland, and the devastating impact on victims and survivors. It is vital that perpetrators are held to account, and that women and children have access to frontline services dealing with violence and domestic abuse.

The 23% increase is in relation to crimes recorded under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018. These crimes relate to a course of conduct only and therefore do not include all crimes relating to domestic abuse. A range of factors could be attributed to this increase, including the increasing time since this legislation was introduced and therefore a longer period over which a course of conduct can be committed and recorded through this Act.

To support victims, we are providing more than £7.5m to Women’s Aid groups in 2024-25 through our Delivering Equally Safe Fund and £1.2m (£1.197m) over this year and next to Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline which provides round the clock support - 0800 027 1234.

Our Equally Safe Strategy is focused on early intervention and prevention and through the Delivering Equally Safe Fund (DES), 119 projects are supported from more than 100 organisations.

We have also recently announced a £2.4m uplift to the Delivering Equally Safe Fund for 2025-26, to allow all fund recipients to continue the vital work they undertake to prevent violence and support survivors of VAWG.

We do not hold an estimate on the number of cases that the Commissioner will deal with in their first year in post.

The Commissioner’s functions and powers are set out in the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill. The Commissioner will be independent from the Scottish Ministers, and will determine how to best exercise the functions of their role, in accordance to the Bill.

I have not met with the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, the Commissioner for Victims of Crime Northern Ireland or the Victims Commissioner, London since 29 March 2023.

The management of Police Scotland’s call handling capabilities is an issue for the Chief Constable. Police Scotland’s three year business plan seeks to ensure that victims are fully heard and supported through a service that is tailored to their needs, and that the service works with partners to ensure vulnerable people can access appropriate care at the right time.

The Scottish Government is aware of the launch of Raneem’s Law in England and Wales, whereby domestic abuse specialists will be embedded within 999 control rooms across five police forces. Police Scotland’s Public Protection Development Programme (PPDP) includes work to develop an improved initial response model, to ensure all victims receive a real-time trauma informed response, including safeguarding and signposting to the most appropriate support service at the earliest opportunity.

Marine Planning in Scotland’s waters is governed by two Acts – the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 and the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Together these set out the requirement for the development of marine plans.

A Planning Position Statement for NMP2 was published in November and covers how the requirements of the Marine Acts and other relevant legislation are being considered in the development of NMP2, as well as the initial thinking on policy direction for NMP2.

The responses to the consultation on the Planning Position Statement are currently being considered, and these stakeholder perspectives alongside the policies established in the fisheries management strategy and fisheries management plans, will inform the development of the NMP2.

There have been no formal discussions with INEOS regarding the development of a Small Modular Nuclear Reactor for their site in Grangemouth. Scottish Government Officials did approach INEOS in 2022 when the potential use of a SMR was reported in media, and the business subsequently confirmed that the technology does not form part of their roadmap for net zero. There is no record of any conversations between Scottish Government and Rolls Royce on this matter.