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The review, the first of its kind in over 30 years, proposes changes to contribute to the modernisation of Scotland’s stations and offer passengers a more efficient and cost effective service for the future. The consultation has enabled rail users including (a) disabled and (b) older passengers to get involved in the process where all contributions will be considered before a final decision is made.

Abellio ScotRail is also carrying out a Disability Impact Assessment regarding the ticket office consultation and all relevant feedback from the public consultation will form part of the final report.

Transport Scotland has not undertaken any assessment however Abellio ScotRail advise they have carried out a full review of ticket buying at all ticket offices which have remained largely the same since the 1990s. During this period there has been significant investment in the station environment. ScotRail has installed 355 ticket vending machines which accounts for 26 per cent of all ticket sales.

Increased usage and familiarity of the internet has opened up an entirely new retail channel, which in 2019 accounted for 18 per cent of all ticket sales. All train services have two members of staff on board - one driver and one ticket inspector. These factors have all contributed to a drop in ticket office usage over the past three decades. Abellio ScotRail has also made clear that customers will always receive the best value ticket regardless of how they chose to purchase.

Transport Scotland has not undertaken any assessment however Abellio ScotRail advise that there is an estimated carbon reduction saving of 75 tons per annum if ticket office opening hours are reviewed however we should wait for the results of the consultation before finalising. It is worth noting there will be no reduction in jobs and any change in ticket office hours will be reinvested to visible frontline activity including passenger assistance or ticket checks.

Transport Scotland has not undertaken any assessment however Abellio ScotRail has carried out an assessment of all ticket sales, passenger assistance, ticket buying facilities, waiting areas, toilets, passenger footfall, links to local schools, colleges and businesses for every station with a ticket office. In addition, Abellio ScotRail also reviewed any instances of anti-social behaviour to ensure the proposed changes do not reduce the customer experience.

Abellio ScotRail has also confirmed that no job loses would occur and any change to opening times would be redeployed in the local area to ensure customers were better supported by having staff more visible and on the frontline.

Following Abellio ScotRail’s notification on 13 July 2021 of their intention to undertake a review of ticket office opening hours under Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, discussions concerning this consultation were held in the normal course of franchise management business.

Abellio ScotRail has advised that following consultation process, Transport Focus will analyse the results and compile a report. The report outputs will then be considered before any final decisions are reached.

Abellio ScotRail advise they carried out analysis from ticket issue data for each of the current ScotRail ticket offices covering the seven-week period from 30 October to 17 December 2016 & 2019, regarded in the industry as the busiest period in the year.

It is important to note the data used for the review was from 2019 and represents a period not impacted by the Covid pandemic and the associated fall in customer numbers.

Abellio ScotRail confirmed to Transport Scotland on 13 July 2021 of their intention to undertake a review of ticket office opening hours under Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) uses an operational database. The database is designed for the management of cases rather than for statistical purposes.

COPFS can provide data in relation to charges reported and prosecuted based on the sex of the accused (perpetrator). COPFS cannot provide data in relation to the sex of the alleged victim.

The information is provided in the following table:

The latest published Official Statistics on the number of incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland are for the year to 31 March 2021. In the period from 1 January to 31 March 2021, the Police recorded 14,782 incidents of domestic abuse.

Figures showing police recorded domestic abuse incidents are also published in the monthly data reports on how the pandemic has affected the Justice system in Scotland. In the period from 1 April to 30 June 2021 the police recorded 15,749 incidents of domestic abuse. This data is based on management information provided each month by Police Scotland, based on their administrative data available at that time and will in due course be incorporated into the 2021-22 Official Statistics.

In the period 1 January to 30 June 2021, 16,395 domestic abuse charges were reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). These are reported charges with a domestic abuse identifier. During the same period, 15,096 domestic abuse charges were prosecuted.

It should be noted that information on police recorded incidents of domestic abuse and cases prosecuted by COPFS are not strictly comparable as there is no direct relationship between the number of incidents (and the crimes they involve) recorded by the police and the number of follow-up actions taken by other agencies within the criminal justice system. For example, some incidents of domestic abuse do not involve any crimes or offences being recorded, whereas others may involve multiple crimes which lead to more than one prosecution. There are other comparability issues in that incidents recorded by the police may not be processed by COPFS or the courts in the same period they were recorded.