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COPFS does not record this information. There is no formal process that requires to be followed to request that a Fatal Accident Inquiry is held. The views of nearest relatives will be obtained during the death investigation process and taken into account when the final decision is made.

COPFS does not hold this information. However, any decision to hold a Fatal Accident Inquiry is ordinarily not taken until other proceedings, including criminal proceedings, have been completed or ruled out.

COPFS would not expect to be made aware of any disciplinary action which results from a Fatal Accident Inquiry.

COPFS regularly liaises with the Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service (SCTS) in relation to upcoming Fatal Accident Inquiries. In particular, the Head of the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit (SFIU) of COPFS writes to all Sheriffs Principal on a quarterly basis to ensure future Fatal Accident Inquiry business is factored into the court programme as efficiently as possible.

Responsibility for the delivery of the transmission network infrastructure including compliance with safety standards, sits with the transmission owner working within a regulatory framework overseen by Ofgem and other relevant regulators such as the Health and Safety Executive.

The Scottish Government wrote to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee on 11 March 2025 to provide an update on commencement and implementation of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020:

Letter from the Minister for Victims and Community Safety

The Act is a wide-ranging piece of legislation, and while some provisions are already in force, we have had to prioritise certain areas of implementation work, such as the regulation of child contact services. We plan to lay secondary legislation this summer to bring child contact services within the regulatory remit of the Care Inspectorate. We will then turn our focus to other key areas, such as the register of child welfare reporters.

We also plan to make further commencement regulations this year. A short set of provisions will be commenced before summer recess and a second set of commencement regulations will be made later in 2025. There will be a lead-in period of around 12 months before the second set of provisions come into force due to the operational and court rules implications.

COPFS does not hold records of arrests: not all persons who are arrested by the police are subsequently reported to Procurator Fiscal.

The following table shows the number of charges, not accused persons, reported to COPFS under the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-Restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) 2021 section 1 or any charge with an Enforcing Statutory Age Restriction aggravation. It is highlighted that the figures for the year 2021- 22 start from 24 August 2021. Under further explanation that some prosecutions may be taken against an accused where the specific statutory charge is not prosecuted however some of the libel in the charge might have been included.

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes statistics on Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment processing times, which include information on the median average processing times.

Latest statistics show that the median average processing time was 42 days in January 2025 for Adult Disability Payment and 73 days in December 2024 for Child Disability Payment.

Social Security Scotland does not currently publish information on the longest processing times for Adult Disability Payment or Child Disability Payment.

The latest Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment official statistics publications can be found at: https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/statistics.

The Minister for Housing and I wrote to the Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee on 11 March to provide an update on the implementation of the Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Act 2020 and our planned next steps: Letter from the Minister for Equalities, 11 March 2025.

As the letter outlines, since the start of this year, my officials have been engaging with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Civil Justice Council to understand the legal and technical changes that are required for implementation of the Act.

My officials have also set up a Working Group which includes representation from Health, Social Work, Education, Child Protection, Police Scotland and third sector organisations. Additionally, officials are considering what training and awareness raising materials are required to support the implementation of the Act.

We are aiming to implement the Act by Summer 2026 and are working closely with our partners to achieve this.

COPFS staff take into account the terms of Section 4 of the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016 when identifying cases where it may be appropriate for a discretionary Fatal Accident Inquiry to be held.

In addition, detailed guidance is available for COPFS staff to assist them in identifying such cases. That guidance applies in relation to all deaths in Scotland that have been reported to COPFS.

To further ensure consistency in decision-making, decisions on Fatal Accident Inquiries are taken by a pool of experienced Crown Counsel.

Social Security Scotland’s application forms for disability benefits were designed with disabled people and organisations who support them, to ensure the forms were accessible and inclusive for the people who would be using them.

Careful consideration was given to each of the questions, so people can give Social Security Scotland the information on their individual needs required to make a decision, while balancing the length of the application form.

Social Security Scotland supports people to apply for benefits, including in-person by appointment through its Local Delivery service based in each local authority in Scotland.

Social Security Scotland continues to review how people, including young cancer patients, access its services, and the Agency uses feedback from clients and stakeholders to drive forward improvements, including through its annual Client Survey.

The Adult Disability Payment: Independent Review began in February 2024 and is considering people’s experiences of applying for Adult Disability Payment, which includes the application form and process.

Social Security Scotland has a dedicated application route for terminally ill adults, children and young people with a diagnosed terminal illness. Published data shows the Special Rules for Terminal Illness applications are currently processed within three working days for Child Disability Payment and two working days for Adult Disability Payment.