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The production of the Accredited Official Statistics on recorded crime in Scotland was amended to allow the separate identification of assaults against police officers/staff from the reporting year of 2024-25 onwards. These can be further broken down into Serious assault, Common assault (with injury) and Common assault (without injury).

The number of these crimes recorded in 2024-25 is provided below. The next full year will be available in June 2026 as part of the Recorded Crime in Scotland 2025-26 Accredited Official Statistics.

Police recorded crimes of assaults on police officer/staff, by type, 2024-25, Scotland.

While the rollout of all equipment to officers is a matter for the Chief Constable, Police Scotland have confirmed that the rollout of Body Worn Video (BWV) to the planned first tranche of 10,500 officers will complete in the coming weeks, with the final group of officers expected to receive the technology in May.

The rollout of Body Worn Video is a game changer for Police Scotland’s hard working officers and is expected to increase public confidence in policing and improve safety for police officers and staff.

Ensuring our officers can access this technology is a result of record Scottish Government investment in policing.

Information on the number of full-time equivalent police officers is published on a quarterly basis. These publications can be found on the Scottish Government website.

The latest publication, Police officer quarterly strength statistics: 31 December 2025, contains a table that shows the number of full-time equivalent police officers employed by Police Scotland as at the end of each quarter from 31 March 2007 to 31 December 2025.

The next publication, Police officer quarterly strength statistics: 31 March 2026, will be published on 5 May 2026.

We take pollution incidents very seriously. It is important that any investigation into pollution incidents is given sufficient time ensure a comprehensive and accurate understanding of both the causes and the environmental impacts before any findings are issued.

The time required to conclude an investigation of a pollution incident will vary depending on the scale and complexity of the event, the type and volume of pollutants involved, the sensitivity of the receiving environment, the availability and quality of evidence, and any requirement to coordinate with other regulatory or enforcement authorities.

Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that robust child protection measures are in place across Scotland, and continue to be followed at all times. This includes for children with a learning disability, autism or neurodiversity.

The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) revenue and capital budgets, as allocated at the annual Budget Bill from 2013-14 to 2026-27, are detailed in the following table. It is for the SPA to allocate its annual budget to support SPA Corporate, SPA Forensic Services and Police Scotland, to maintain policing in Scotland.

We are currently working with all health boards to develop an NHS whole system infrastructure plan for Scotland. This will support continued safe and effective use of existing facilities as well as informing future investment priorities based on assessment of need across the whole of Scotland.

The cost incurred to date in relation to the planned National Treatment Centre in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Grampian, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Lothian and NHS Tayside, the figure for NTCs in the planning stage, has not changed since the response to S6W-41671 was issued on 18 November 2025.

See following table for capital allocations provided by SG in relation to NTC projects including phase 1 & 2 of Golden Jubilee (24-25 year ended):

I recognise the dedication and bravery of our Police Officers, who place themselves in harms way to protect the people and communities they serve, and it is simply not acceptable that our police officers are attacked or abused while going about their daily duty. Courts have extensive powers to deal robustly with those who carry out such appalling behaviour towards police officers and staff.

While provision of training and equipment are matters for the Chief Constable, I am clear that police officers and staff should be provided with the correct tools for the job. I am also aware that our officers receive a wide range of training, including officer safety training and the use of Personal Protective Equipment. Our record £1.7 billion investment in policing in 2026-27 is helping equip officers with modern tools like body worn video, ensuring they have the right resources to keep themselves and our communities safe.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) operates independently of the Scottish Government and uses a risk based, proportionate and intelligence led approach. HIS determines inspection activity by applying a data informed prioritisation process to decide how often to inspect and which service areas require review. This strategic approach ensures resources are targeted where they are most needed. A list of inspections carried out by HIS can be found here on the HIS website: Inspections of NHS hospitals and services – Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

The legislative requirements for Early Learning and Childcare settings falls under The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act which was enacted on 1 April 2024. The Act is applicable to all health and care staff in Scotland. Statutory guidance was published on 1 April 2024 alongside the Act to support services to understand their responsibilities and ensure staffing arrangements meet the individual needs of people using care services.

The Health and Social Care Standards also detail expectations in relation to meeting the needs of people experiencing care, which includes children in ELC settings. In particular, section 3 includes details about staffing arrangements to meet individual needs.

The Care Inspectorate guidance on adult to child ratios in early learning and childcare settings sets out the minimum expectations for staffing levels in children's services. However, all children should have a personal plan where the service would capture, among other things, children's support needs, interests and stage of development, and this should be used to inform decisions about staffing levels. The ongoing maintenance of this guidance is the responsibility of the Care Inspectorate.

Under the Additional Support for Learning (ASL) Act 2004, education authorities are responsible for identifying and meeting the additional support needs of children in ELC settings. In line with the National Standard, we expect local authorities and funded providers to work together to support children with additional support needs to access appropriate support to ensure that children's disabilities or additional support needs do not provide a barrier to them accessing a full range of experiences, and meets their individual needs. It is for education authorities to determine the most appropriate provision for children and young people with ASN, taking account of their legislative responsibilities and the individual circumstances and wishes of children, young people and their families. Education authorities are supported with these decisions through the statutory supporting learners' code of practice guidance, which is accessible online at Additional support for learning: statutory guidance 2017