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The proposed reforms are about making the consideration and determination process more efficient, not making it easier for projects to get consent or to reduce the overall quality of decision-making in the consenting process.

Scottish Ministers will continue to consider each proposal on a case-by-case basis, following review of the application information, consultation responses and representations made by members of the public.

There are currently no forensic pathologists based in Aberdeen.

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

The current cost of an NHS locum pathologist conducting a post mortem examination in Aberdeen is £600 per examination.

In relation to other incurred costs – which include histopathology, toxicology, administrative costs and mortuary costs - in the year 2023-24 the average cost per examination was £2,568.

There are currently no full-time forensic pathologists based in Aberdeen

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

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.

In Scotland, post mortem examinations instructed by the Crown are performed by Forensic Pathologists and NHS Consultant pathologists. Forensic pathologists perform a mixture of Forensic and non-Forensic examinations.

Aberdeen University provided a Forensic pathology service in Aberdeen in eight of the last ten years. Over those eight years, examinations were conducted by Forensic pathologists covering both Forensic and non-Forensic postmortems and it is not possible to separate the Forensic and non-Forensic pathology costs.

There has been no Forensic pathology service provider in Aberdeen in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. COPFS-instructed non-forensic examinations in Aberdeen have been conducted by locum NHS consultant pathologists and Forensic services have been conducted by other Forensic service providers in Scotland. It is therefore possible to provide the costs of the Forensic pathology caseload in Aberdeen for 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 (forecasted figures from November 2024 to March 2025) and these are shown in the following table:

The table below shows the number of part-time forensic pathologists based in Aberdeen in each of the last 10 years.