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Legislation surrounding the use of e-bikes is a reserved matter for the UK Government. For an e-bike to be legal for use in the UK, they must meet the criteria of an electrically assisted pedal cycle and the electric motor should not be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph, with a maximum power output of 250 watts. This ensures speeds similar to that of other bicycles.

Prior to Christmas 2024 Police Scotland published advice on ebikes that provides clarity on the standards required to be permitted to ride on public roads. This received coverage across news outlets in Scotland and on Social Media.

Members of the public who are seeking clarity on the standards required to ride on public roads can visit https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules

896km of 2695km in Scotland is already electrified, based on ORR figures to 31 March 2024. However, 75% of ScotRail journeys are already made on electric trains. Future plans will be outlined in the refreshed Decarbonisation Action Plan.

The following table details the number of cases for which a FAI was held in each of the last 5 years.

The following table shows cases reported to the Aberdeen Procurator Fiscal’s Office which include at least one charge under the Scottish Government classification of "Fraud" for the period 1 April 2021-31 March 2024

As at 30 November 2024, COPFS employs 733 legal staff.

The following table shows Human Trafficking (HT) charges or any charge with a HT aggravation reported to Procurator Fiscal Office, Aberdeen for the period 1 April 2020-31 March 2024 subsequently marked for court proceedings (prosecuted).

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.

Further details on plans to decarbonise Scotland’s Rail Network will be published in the refreshed Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan, which is now expected to be published in Spring 2025. It will outline a staged approach to creating a decarbonised rail system by 2045 and increasing from the current 75% of rail journeys which are already decarbonised.

The assigning of a hearing for trial is an order of the court and is recorded within the court’s interlocutor for each case.

COPFS uses a live, operational database to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland. It is designed to meet business needs in the processing of criminal cases, rather than for statistical analysis. Scheduled trial data is not retained once a date is cancelled regardless of the reason.

Information in respect 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 details the extradition cases for the last 10 years in which COPFS have been involved.