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The Scottish Government’s Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics reports data on people convicted in Scottish courts. This data is drawn from a subset of Police Scotland’s Criminal History System, with only the minimum information required for statistical reporting and publication received. Alongside any crime(s) committed and the main sentence given, this includes data on a convicted person’s date of birth (used to calculate age at sentencing) and sex. In some cases their Local Authority of residence is also known. Although breakdowns by crime (main charge), sentence (main penalty), age (at sentencing) and sex are included in the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland bulletin, there is currently no published disaggregation of those convicted of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The assessment of requests and permission for officers seeking additional jobs or business interests are matters for the Chief Constable. Police Scotland has confirmed that an assessment is undertaken of every application for additional business interests, many of these agreed to are voluntary or charitable posts.

The Scottish Government values the dedication shown by police officers in Scotland. That’s why our police officers remain the best paid in the UK, recognising the hard work and valuable contribution they make daily, as well as our commitment to investing in policing.

Bullying, harassment and unacceptable behaviour of any form cannot be tolerated within society or within policing. Police officers do an incredibly difficult job and the vast majority conduct themselves with integrity and professionalism. However, when things do go wrong, it is essential there are robust, clear and transparent mechanisms in place to investigate complaints or other issues of concern.

The new Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act, which became law in March, introduces several measures to improve the police complaints and misconduct systems and enhance the accountability of officers. It will allow for gross misconduct proceedings to continue or commence following an officer’s resignation or retirement and ongoing vetting throughout officers’ careers. The Scottish Government is also consulting with policing partners on proposals for further changes to police conduct regulations.

Ensuring public trust in police officers is vital and this legislation is building on the range of changes already delivered since Dame Elish Angiolini’s independent review of policing in November 2020.

The Scottish Government does not hold the data requested as exits from the Scottish Landlord Register and changes in portfolio size are not tracked.

The following table shows active registrations on the Register in March 2024 and March 2025.

The following table provides the number of injury road collisions recorded by Police Scotland as taking place on the A720 Edinburgh City Bypass.

The Scottish Government’s guidance on Welfare at the time of Killing in Salmon Farming, published on 17 July 2025, is based on the recommendations made by the UK Government's Animal Welfare Committee and developed in conjunction with the Scottish farmed salmon industry, Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA) and animal welfare organisations.

The Scottish Government takes the welfare of farmed fish very seriously and the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing is assured by the requirement at Article 3.1 of retained Council Regulation (EC) 1099/2009 that ‘animals shall be spared any avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations’. We have no current plans to introduce further legislation.

Whilst this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, I welcome Police Scotland’s commitment to supporting officers after critical incidents.

Scotland’s police officers and staff do a challenging job and I also welcome the Chief Constable’s commitment to workforce wellbeing. I am pleased that in addition to the provision of Trauma Risk Incident Management assessments and Occupational Health counselling, Police Scotland has invested £17 million to enhance welfare provision. This included a new 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and direct access to occupational health services, where officers suffering psychological or physical trauma can be supported.

The common law offence of misconduct in public office does not operate in Scotland. However, there is a comparable common law offence in Scots law of wilful neglect of duty.

Separate to common law, there are also some specific offences relating to the police in terms of failure to perform duty. These are contained in section 22 of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 and are the offence of being absent from duty and the offence of neglecting or violating a constable’s duty.

The following table provides data from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) on the number of charges related to these offences. However, this data cannot be disaggregated by the occupation or role of the accused person (though this is otherwise identified for the specific charge of Constable of Police Service of Scotland did neglect or violate duty).

Table: Number of Charges reported to COPFS related to culpable neglect of duty.

Information is not held centrally on the full range of individual characteristics that Police Scotland collect in their crime recording system. Further advice may be available from contacting them directly through the office of the Chief Constable. It is an operational matter for Police Scotland to determine the specific categories of information gathered and recorded, in the pursuit of their duties.

The social value of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund arises in several ways, including through the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the bus sector by accelerating the uptake of zero emission buses and coaches as part of wider activity to address the climate emergency.

In addition, Wider community and decarbonisation benefit was included among the criteria for ScotZEB 2, accounting for 10% of the total score. The guidance to applicants explained that this could include job creation, making assets (particularly infrastructure) available to a wider number of users and / or transport modes. The programme’s delivery of this criterion are assessed through evidence provided in annual reports to Scottish Ministers from the consortium. The full criteria for ScotZEB2 can be found online at https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/grants-and-loans/scottish-zero-emission-bus-challenge-fund-phase-2/

The programme has been highly successful against these aims: through ScotZEB and its predecessor programme SULEBS, more than 800 zero-emission buses and coaches have been introduced to Scotland’s roads, a network of charging facilities established for use by bus operators and other businesses, and new business models introduced to the sector to help make the use of zero emission technology financially sustainable. This contributes to greenhouse gas emissions reductions, as well as higher air quality and lower noise pollution, particularly in urban areas. Furthermore, ScotZEB 2 has seen, in only its first year, 60 new jobs in the Dundee area at zero-emission coach company Ember linked to their participation in the successful ScotZEB consortium.