Written Question · S7W-00654 · Session 7
Further to the Scottish National Party 2026 manifesto commitment to "reduce the hours police officers need to spend in courts andhospitals,…
The question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Scottish National Party 2026 manifesto commitment to "reduce the hours police officers need to spend in courts andhospitals, including through the expansion ofmental health triage cars to reduce the pressureon police when people are reported as being inmental health distress and ensure they are in ourcommunities more", what reforms it proposes to introduce.
The answer
Scottish Ministers will be considering options with the Scottish Ambulance Service to increase the availability of this service across Scotland, this will be informed by an evaluation of the current three sites funded by the Scottish Government in Glasgow, Inverness and Dundee. We expect the evaluation to be available by the end of summer 2026.There are a number of public sector reform programmes currently underway in justice, including Summary Case Management (SCM) and the Digital Evidence Sharing Capability to reduce police time spent at court. The national rollout of SCM across all sheriffdoms was completed in January 2026. A report published in May 2026 estimates that, during the rollout period, over 100,000 fewer police officers were cited to give evidence. These reforms are improving efficiency across the system by reducing unnecessary trials, minimising witness citations, and helping to address court backlogs.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S7W-00654 by reference.