Further to the Scottish National Party 2026 manifesto commitment to extend specific legal protections against assault and abuse to public t…

As the member will be aware, the Rail Enforcement Powers Working Group published its final report and recommendations on 11 February 2026. This contained an output which recommended that the Scottish Government explore whether primary or secondary legislation can be used to create greater protections for rail workers. Since the report was published, Transport Scotland officials have been conducting a feasibility assessment of each of the Working Group’s recommendations.As part of this, the feasibility work regarding the proposals for specific legal protections against assaults and abuse towards rail workers has now been widened to include all public transport workers, following the manifesto commitment.This work will inform any potential future approaches towards implementation.