John Swinney is being kept up to date about a multi-agency response to violence in Edinburgh over Halloween ahead of Bonfire Night on Tuesday.

The First Minister was briefed today on the developments by justice minister Siobhain Brown, who took part in a Cabinet meeting this morning, while Justice Secretary Angela Constance was attending an conference hosted by international policing organisation Interpol in Glasgow.

Police Scotland are on alert for any further trouble and have put more patrols in the areas of Edinburgh badly affected by disorder on Halloween.

A statement by the Scottish Government after the meeting of the "travelling Cabinet" in Ayr said:

"Ms Brown updated Cabinet on the ongoing multi-agency response to the disturbance during the Halloween and Bonfire Night period in parts of Scotland, particularly in Edinburgh." 

A police officer was injured and more than a dozen buses damaged in the capital during a night of disorder on Halloween last Thursday.

Riot police were pelted with bricks and fireworks in the city's Niddrie area, with a female officer hurt when the window of her vehicle was shattered.

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An open-top bus carrying young people with disabilities was also targeted with fireworks outside the city’s Dynamic Earth attraction.

During the Cabinet meeting finance secretary Shona Robison also updated Cabinet on the Chancellor’s budget statement and its implications for the Scottish Government’s fiscal position. 

The read out of the meeting said that Ms Robison noted that the settlement for this year "was roughly in line" with the Scottish Government planning assumptions, "and that in light of cost pressures, the fiscal position remained extremely challenging".

It added: "However, there is much uncertainty about the consequences for Scotland of the UK Government’s increase in employer national insurance contributions. The impact could be very substantial across a number of vital sectors such as GP practices, social care providers and third sector organisations – and if not fully mitigated it could have significant consequences for service delivery."

The Scottish Government expects the impact of this change to be fully mitigated by the Treasury, and will continue to seek clarity from the Treasury ahead of publishing its own budget on December 4, the read out stated.

It also noted that senior ministers also discussed concerns around the Chancellor's reforms on inheritance tax with farmers with assets worth more than £1 million having to start paying death duties from April 2026, as part of a broader crackdown on inheritance tax loopholes.

The read out stated: "The Scottish Government is also profoundly concerned about changes to inheritance tax for farmers, as well as the funding formula used to support farmers which could disproportionately impact Scotland given its relative land mass."

Transport secretary Fiona Hyslop updated Cabinet on the Scottish Government reaching its target of delivering 6,000 public chargers for electric vehicles ahead of its 2026 deadline, while health secretary Neil Gray updated colleagues on the latest health statistics and "noted ongoing work to improve performance".

The First Minister and Cabinet were welcomed to Ayr Town Hall by Councillor Martin Dowey,leader of South Ayrshire Council, deputy leader councillor Bob Pollock and chief executive Mike Newall. 

Lothian Buses withdrew at least nine bus services due to anti-social behaviour in Edinburgh on Thursday night.

Police also responded to incidents at Moredunvale Road, Southhouse Road, Captain's Road and West Pilton Park, where a number of buses were targeted.

Edinburgh city council leader Cammy Day said a total of 16 vehicles from the Lothian fleet were damaged.

He told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland on Friday it was a "horrible" night for the city.

He said: "It is despicable, the behaviour of a minority of people in certain areas of the city, attacking public service workers and bus drivers.

"People who live there, good working people. How do they feel seeing their area awash with riot police?

"We need to nip it in the bud now and take some hard decisions about how we deal with young people, but adults as well who were orchestrating this despicable behaviour."

Two boys aged 14 and 17 were later arrested and charged in connection with offences in the aftermath of the disorder in Edinburgh at Halloween.

Police said the 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged with fireworks offences, while the 17-year-old was arrested and charged in connection with the disorder in the Hay Avenue and Niddrie Mains Road area of Edinburgh.

On Bonfire Night last year, about 100 young people clashed with riot police with fireworks and petrol bombs being thrown directly at officers in the same area of Edinburgh, while there were similar incidents in Sighthill and Southhouse.

The Scottish Government gave local authorities new powers to designate ‘firework control zones’ (FCZs) in 2022 following a major riot in Dundee.

City of Edinburgh Council became the first in Scotland to vote for implementing the FCZ in August.

The measures run from 1 to 10 November and anyone setting off a private firework during this period will be committing a criminal offence.

The council’s culture and communities committee voted against a zone covering the entire city.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident over the weekend Police Scotland asked people to stop sharing graphic images after a 74-year-old man died after he was hit by a bus in Edinburgh city centre.

Social media has been flooded with photographs and videos of the pensioner's remains after the collision in the capital’s nightlife district on Saturday evening.

The city’s police commander said that the images were upsetting the victim’s family.