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There are no delays in post mortem examinations affecting legal proceedings in Scotland.

There are currently no forensic pathologists based in Aberdeen.

Statutory consultees are key stakeholders in the consenting process.

The ‘Verity House Agreement’ and the ‘New Deal for Business’ have set out how the Scottish Government intends to work collaboratively with local authorities and others to deliver a just transition to net zero.

The reform process launched by this consultation creates an opportunity to re-set the expectations on the bodies providing essential support to the application process, taking account of their views, suggestions and their specific circumstances.

The proposed reforms include new standardised processes for developers to share information and consult with local communities and wider stakeholders on plans for new clean energy infrastructure before submitting an application.

This will help to involve communities at an earlier stage where they can most effectively influence outcomes, drive improvement in the quality of applications and speed up the determinations process, with new powers for Scottish Ministers to reject applications that do not meet requirements.

There is no backlog of post mortem examinations in Aberdeen and the majority of routine examinations are completed within agreed targets.

COPFS works closely with the Aberdeen mortuary team and locum pathologists to ensure that any issues with service delivery are highlighted and resolved as quickly as possible with the minimum of impact to bereaved families.

NHS Grampian has provided COPFS with a commitment to implement a forensic pathology service in Aberdeen, including the recruitment of full-time forensic pathologists, and COPFS is supporting that process.

It is however a matter for NHS Grampian to recruit forensic pathologists to provide the services.

The numbers of full-time forensic pathologists based in Aberdeen in each of the last ten years are shown in the following table:

There are currently no part-time forensic pathologists based in Aberdeen. There was one based in Aberdeen until 20 November 2024.

NHS Grampian provides the postmortem toxicology service for Aberdeen, Grampian and the Highlands and Islands. The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) provides the service for the rest of Scotland. SPA also currently processes priority cases for the whole of Scotland.

The current average turnaround time for post mortem toxicology results for non-priority cases referred to NHS Grampian in 2024 is 15.5 days, calculated from the date the samples arrive at the laboratory.

The current average turnaround time for post mortem toxicology results for cases referred to SPA in 2024, is 28 days for priority cases and 30.8 days for non-priority cases.

These figures are within the target agreed between COPFS and the toxicology providers.

A death may be considered suspicious if the facts and circumstances suggest it may have been caused as a result of criminality.

When a death is reported to the Procurator Fiscal, it may not be possible to determine from the facts and circumstances known at that time whether the death is suspicious. That may only be possible when the results of further enquiries – such as the findings of a post mortem examination – are known.

Where the death occurred has no bearing on whether or not the death will be investigated as potentially suspicious.