Contents
- First Minister’s Question Time
- Portfolio Question Time
- Scottish Parliament (Assistance for Political Parties) Bill: Stage 1
- Internal Market
- Decision Time
First Minister’s Question Time
Good afternoon. We will begin First Minister’s question time shortly but, before we do, as today marks the three-weekly review point of the lockdown restrictions, the First Minister will make a slightly longer statement than normal.
The Scottish Government is required by law to review lockdown restrictions every three weeks. As the Presiding Officer said, the latest review falls due today, and I will shortly give an update on the decisions that we have reached.
I will set out why we are not yet able to move to phase 4 of the route map out of lockdown. I will confirm that, in the light of the recent increase in the number of cases of Covid and because it must still be our aim to keep prevalence of the virus as low as possible, we have taken the precautionary decision to pause some changes that we had previously scheduled for slightly later this month. I will also announce a tightening and extension of some existing restrictions and rules as part of our efforts to slow the rise in the number of cases as we enter winter, and I will confirm that the Protect Scotland app—the significant enhancement of test and protect that I signalled in the programme for government—is now up and running.
First, I will report on today’s statistics. Since yesterday, an additional 161 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed. That represents 1.9 per cent of newly tested people and takes the total number of cases to 22,039. Sixty-five of today’s cases are in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, 46 are in Lanarkshire, 12 are in Lothian and eight are in Ayrshire and Arran. The remaining 30 are spread across eight different health board areas.
A total of 266 patients are currently in hospital with Covid, which is eight fewer than yesterday. As of last night, seven people were in intensive care with Covid, which is one more than yesterday.
In the past 24 hours, no deaths have been registered of patients who had been confirmed as having the virus. The total number of deaths under that measurement therefore remains at 2,499. I again send my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this illness.
I turn now to the review of lockdown restrictions. As I indicated a moment ago, it is not possible at this stage to indicate a move from phase 3 to phase 4 of the route map out of lockdown. I therefore confirm that we will remain in phase 3 for now, and it is important to stress that that is likely to be the case for some time yet.
For us to move to phase 4, we must be satisfied that
“the virus is no longer considered a significant threat to public health”.
As is obvious from the figures that I have reported in recent days—and as confirmed to me in advice from the chief medical officer—that is definitely not the case. When we reviewed lockdown measures six weeks ago, we had recorded 14 new cases a day on average over the previous week. Three weeks ago, the average daily rate had risen to 52 new cases a day, and in the seven days up to yesterday, the average daily rate was 155. Our latest estimate of the R number is that it is now above 1 and possibly as high as 1.5.
Over the past week, we have had to impose additional restrictions on people living in five local authority areas in Greater Glasgow and Clyde: Glasgow, East and West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire. Therefore, rather than the threat to public health receding, the pandemic at this stage is accelerating again, albeit—thankfully—from a low base and not as rapidly as it was back in March and April.
It is worth stressing that the position is not entirely unexpected. In recent weeks, we have reopened significant parts of our economy. Though many will be operating below full capacity, approximately 96 per cent of businesses in Scotland are now trading again. Children have gone back to school, and we have eased many social, leisure and travel restrictions. People are meeting up more, going out more and travelling more, and all that is positive.
However, as we released ourselves from lockdown, we also released the virus. We gave it more opportunities to spread, so it was always likely that there would be a rise in cases. Indeed, the reason why we focused so firmly over the summer on suppressing the virus was to ensure that any increase was from a low base, and to give our test and protect teams the best possible chance of keeping outbreaks under control.
It is important, even in a period of rising cases, that we do not lose sight of the objective of keeping infection levels as low as possible. That approach has been important. Since late July, for example, Spain’s weekly level of new cases per 100,000 of population has increased from 34 to 126, France’s level has risen from 11 to 60 and Scotland’s rate has increased from two to just under 20. We have come out of the summer with a relatively low prevalence of the virus.
Of course, without test and protect, and the efforts of so many across the country, the virus would already have spread considerably further and faster. I am very grateful to everyone for the collective effort so far. It has made a difference.
However, cases are now rising again. By looking around Britain, Europe, and the rest of world, we can see just how difficult it is to keep the virus under control when, globally, the pandemic is still accelerating. Even New Zealand, which at one stage reached zero Covid, has now reimposed some restrictions.
In Scotland, having reopened schools, we are now welcoming students back to our colleges and universities. That is a necessary and positive development but, because it involves people moving around the country and mixing, it undoubtedly brings further risks.
One point that is frequently commented on is that the recent rise in cases has not been mirrored by an equally large rise in hospital admissions or deaths. That may partly reflect the fact that many of the new cases are among younger people. Although that can provide some comfort, it should not, and must not, lead to complacency. Although Covid kills relatively few younger people, we know that it can still be harmful to their health. It is not a virus that anyone should be relaxed about getting.
In addition, if Covid spreads too widely in the younger, healthier parts of the population, it will inevitably reach older and more vulnerable people. That could then lead to an increase in hospital admissions and fatalities, as is happening now to some extent in countries such as France. It is also worth noting that, although numbers in Scotland are still low, there has been a rise in hospital admissions over the past couple of weeks.
Let me make one point very clear: I understand how hard this is for everybody, but perhaps for young people in particular, and it is not their fault. Younger adults are more likely to work in public-facing jobs, to have to use public transport and to live in shared accommodation. That is simply a fact of life for so many young people in our society. It also makes it more likely that they will be exposed to the virus and, therefore, all the more important that we stress the ways in which they can protect themselves and others.
Taking account of all the most up-to-date information that we have, the Scottish Government’s judgment is that we cannot at this stage risk the new opportunities for transmission of Covid that reopening further services and facilities would entail. In my statement on 20 August, I set out several changes that were provisionally scheduled for 14 September. At that time, I stressed:
“Given the volatility that we face in transmission of the virus, there is a very real possibility that some of, or all, those plans could change.”—[Official Report, 20 August 2020; c 4.]
Unfortunately, due to the rise in cases since then, we have concluded that those changes must be paused for a further three weeks. The new indicative date for their resumption is Monday 5 October. However, I must stress again that that remains an indicative date and a final decision can be taken only much nearer the time.
That means, unfortunately, that spectators will not be able to return to sports stadia and other venues over the next three weeks. Two pilot events that are due to take place this weekend will proceed. However, after that, we will judge possible pilot events on a case-by-case basis in the light of the latest Covid data.
The other services and venues that are affected by this pause are theatres, live music venues, indoor soft play facilities, and indoor contact sports activities for people aged 12 and over.
In addition, outdoor events that have not yet been given the green light, such as those where a lot of people stand close together, cannot yet restart.
I will give an update on funerals and weddings later in my statement.
I am well aware that, for people who work in the sectors that are affected by today’s pause, it is a very hard message to hear. I know how long they have waited to start up again, or to resume more of their activities. I know, because I have seen it in so many sectors, how much work they have put into plans for safe reopening. I also know the impact of continued closure. I want to stress, therefore, that the decision to delay the indicative date by three weeks has not been taken lightly. However, right now, given the rise in the number of cases, it is the only responsible decision that we can reach.
For the same reason, the reopening of call centres and offices whose staff are still working from home will be reviewed again on 1 October, but it will definitely not take place before then.
For now, working from home will remain the default position. Again, I am aware of the impact of long-term home working on many businesses and employees, and on shops, cafes and bars that normally attract trade from office workers. We are currently working with partners, including the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and the Scottish Trades Union Congress, to plan for a safe phased reopening of those remaining offices when circumstances allow. That planning will inform future route map review decisions. However, at this stage, a full return to office working—which would substantially increase the number of people meeting indoors and travelling together on buses and trains—would risk a significant acceleration of Covid transmission.
Finally, before I move on to further measures that we deem to be necessary in order to reduce the spread of the virus, let me say a few words to those in the shielding category. We will continue to provide as much information and advice as possible. In fact, if you are registered with the shielding SMS service and live in areas where there have been local outbreaks, such as Aberdeen or Glasgow, you will have received text messages alerting you to changes in local advice. We have also published a guide on the mygov.scot website, which suggests simple things you can do to lower your risk of exposure, and you will receive an update letter soon from the chief medical officer. We understand that the recent rise in cases will cause concern, but at this stage, we do not plan to reintroduce shielding. Instead, we will continue to give you the information you need to help you to stay safe.
In addition to pausing the reopenings that had been planned for later this month, we have concluded that it is necessary to tighten some existing restrictions to help curb the spread of the virus, especially between and within households. As of now, up to eight people from three households can meet indoors and larger outdoor gatherings are also permitted. I can confirm that we intend to change that, so that a maximum of six people from two households will now be permitted to meet together. To help to reduce transmission, but also to simplify the rules as much as possible, this new limit will apply both indoors—in houses, pubs and restaurants—and outdoors, including in private gardens. There will be some limited exceptions—for example for organised sports and places of worship. Also, any children under 12 who are part of two households meeting up will not count towards the limit of six people.
Lastly, given the importance of these life events and the distress caused by not being able to mark them, we intend to allow a limited exception for funerals, weddings and civil partnerships. Already, up to 20 people can attend ceremonies for those occasions and we intend to retain that limit for now. However, from Monday, that limit of 20 will also be permitted for wakes and receptions as long as they take place in regulated venues such as hotels with strict guidance in place. I know that many have called for greater consistency in the arrangements for ceremonies and receptions, so I hope that will help deliver that.
I am asking people to abide by these stricter new limits on gatherings immediately. However, the regulations that will give legal effect to them will come into force on Monday, and more detail will be available on the Scottish Government website.
Of course, for now, for people living in Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire or West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, the advice is not to visit other households at all. Let me also re-emphasise that the new limit of six people from two households will also apply in restaurants, pubs and beer gardens, as well as in our homes. We hope that by reducing the risk of transmission in those settings, it will help to keep the sector open. However, I can confirm that we have decided to implement two additional measures to reduce the risk of transmission in the hospitality sector. First, we intend to make it mandatory for customers in hospitality premises to wear face coverings whenever they are moving around and not eating or drinking—for example, when entering and going to a table or to the bathroom. Secondly, subject to some exemptions, we will also make it mandatory—rather than simply in guidance—for staff working in hospitality premises to also wear face coverings. The hospitality industry has put a lot of effort into creating safe spaces for people to meet and we hope that those additional protections will help ensure that the sector can remain open, with high levels of compliance.
I am aware that the announcements that I have made so far are hard for people to hear. After six long hard months, we are still asking the public to make a lot of difficult sacrifices. That is unavoidable, given the nature of the challenge that we face. However, I want to be clear that while we still face a battle to get and keep Covid under control, we are in a stronger position than earlier in the year. Test and protect is working well and now taking a lot of the strain; without it, the virus would be spreading further and faster and we would require to apply much stricter lockdown measures again.
Today, a significant enhancement of test and protect has gone live; the Protect Scotland contact tracing app is now available for download and use. The app does not replace our current test and protect system; it adds to it. The work of our teams on the ground—interviewing people who have tested positive, getting in touch with close contacts and making recommendations based on the information that they gather—will remain the cornerstone of our approach to controlling outbreaks. However, the app is an important addition to the work of those teams. If you download it, you will receive a notification if someone you have been in close proximity to tells the app that they have tested positive. It will be particularly useful for settings such as public transport, where we tend to spend time in close proximity to people we do not know. It will also be very valuable as students arrive back at university or college for the new term.
The app is available now from the Apple and Google Play app stores, and more information is available on the new protect.scot website. The app operates anonymously and confidentially. The simple fact is that the more of us who download and use it, the more effective it—and test and protect overall—will be in helping us to beat Covid. Therefore, I encourage everyone to download it today and spread the word to all their friends and family. This is a simple but very powerful thing that all of us can do as individual citizens to help protect Scotland as a whole.
The pause in our route map and the new restrictions that I have outlined today are not welcome; I know that, and the Scottish Government did not want to have to impose them. However, they are necessary and they reflect the fact that Scotland—like the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe and the world—is currently in a very precarious position. However, notwithstanding that, as I said a moment ago, we are in a much better position than we were in late March.
Prevalence of the virus is lower, thanks to the individual sacrifices that so many of you have made for the greater good. We are seeing a rise in new cases, but it is not as rapid as it was earlier in the year. Test and protect is working well; even with a rise in cases, it is allowing us to live much more normally than we could under lockdown. Therefore, we still have grounds for cautious hope and optimism, but we have no grounds whatsoever for complacency. It is vital to do everything we can to stop cases rising further before winter.
That is the reason for the decisions that I have outlined today. These steps are necessary to help curb a virus that we know spreads rapidly whenever it gets the chance. Of course, the success of these measures depends on all of us; by necessity, it is still a collective effort. After all, although Government actions, such as testing and contact tracing, have a significant role to play, unfortunately, the virus does not respond to Government instruction. It thrives or dies according to how people behave; it spreads when we give it opportunities to do so and it goes into retreat when we deny it those opportunities. Although none of us can guarantee that we will not get or spread the virus—and it is not our fault when we do; it is, after all, highly infectious—we can all do our bit to reduce the chances of that happening.
I know that making these choices, such as keeping our distance from friends, staying in small groups and washing our hands regularly, gets harder and much more tiresome as time passes, but they are more important now than they have been for months.
The best way of remembering the key choices that we all need to make is to remember FACTS—the rules that will help us to protect ourselves, our families, communities and the national health service. Ultimately, the rules will help us to save lives, and we should not lose sight of that. Face coverings should be worn in enclosed spaces; avoid crowded areas; clean your hands regularly and thoroughly, and clean hard surfaces after touching them; 2m distancing remains our clear advice; and self-isolate and book a test immediately if you have symptoms of Covid: a new cough, a fever, or a loss of—or change in—your sense of taste or smell. Keeping to those basic rules is not easy, but it remains the best way of expressing our care for and solidarity with each other.
Once again, I thank everyone across Scotland for your patience and for continuing to make these hard sacrifices for the sake of the people that they love and for the sake of the country as a whole.
Before the First Minister takes questions, I remind members that I will take all the supplementary questions after question 7, which will be asked by Pauline McNeill.
Protect Scotland App
I thank the First Minister for advance notice of her statement.
The sobering news in Scotland and across the rest of the UK over the past few days has been a reality check for anyone who thought that the pandemic was on its way out. It is clear that, although we can still hope for further progress to be made over the rest of this year, there will be no swift return to normality.
We all recognise the importance of sticking to the rules—washing our hands, socially distancing and doing our bit. That is down to each and every one of us, and each and every one of us will benefit if we do that.
Last night, the new Scottish contact tracing app was launched. Experts at University College London have said that the uptake of such an app would need to be between 56 and 95 per cent for it to be successful. Reaching those numbers will take a momentous effort.
This morning, I along with thousands of Scots did my bit and downloaded it to my phone and I have no doubt that the First Minister did so, too. However, many people across Scotland do not regularly use apps and are perhaps not as addicted to our phones as the first Minister and I. What is being done to ensure that everybody, including those who are hardest to reach, is being helped to adopt this new technology?
I thank Ruth Davidson for her question, for downloading the app and for taking the opportunity to encourage other people to do so. I appeal to members across the chamber to follow that example. This is not political in any way. All of us have a duty to ask our fellow citizens to do the right thing.
Uptake is important, of course, which is why it is so vital that we encourage people to download the app. There are other views about whether it needs to reach a specific percentage. I take the view that the higher it is, the better—the more people who sign up the better. Everybody who signs up is making a contribution. When I left my office to come to the chamber the download number had just passed 150,000, which is really good progress after a few hours. I hope to see it rise further over the next few days. From tomorrow, there will be a major advertising campaign to back it.
The point about people who do not routinely use smartphones is important. It is for that reason, among others, that we decided not to base our entire test and protect system on a proximity tracing app. We built it from the bottom up, using tried and tested approaches in our public health teams and the app is an enhancement of that.
If you do not have a phone or use the app, you will not be missed from our test and protect system. Everybody who tests positive, notwithstanding the app, will still be contacted by a contact tracer and details of those with whom they have been in contact will be taken. The app adds to that system and it is important to recognise that.
The real value of the app is that it will help us to notify close contacts of positive cases who are not known to the person who has tested positive—somebody they have sat close to in a bus or a train, a pub or a restaurant. That is the importance of the enhancement.
Test and protect is working well—I say that with not a shred of complacency. The most up-to-date figures on its performance were published by Public Health Scotland yesterday. At this stage, well over 90 per cent of index cases and more than 90 per cent of close contacts are being contacted. It is working well, the app is an important enhancement and I hope that we will all get fully behind it.
We all hope that the app works successfully.
We are learning, as we go through the pandemic, that to get ahead of the virus we must fight it across all fronts and testing is at the heart of that. At present, even with the increase in testing that the First Minister has outlined, her strategy focuses on symptomatic cases, on surveillance and on the sick and people at high risk. She made no mention in her statement on wider community testing. Will the current position be the long-term one for the country or is it a staging post towards mass community testing?
We are working with the United Kingdom Government to try to advance mass community testing. The Prime Minister spoke yesterday about the work that the UK Government is doing and we are engaging with it on that. The UK Government is being frank that not all the technology exists in a developed-enough form. There is a lot of work to do to make testing available on a mass scale in a way that is rapid and easily accessible.
We continue to build the capacity of our current testing system, again in partnership with the UK. Our approach to testing is set out in our current testing strategy, which we keep under constant review. There are some categories of people whom we test regardless of symptoms: care home workers are tested every week, whether or not they have symptoms; some categories of patients who are admitted to hospital and staff who work in our hospitals are also tested routinely; and people working in our education system can access testing if they believe that they may have been exposed to the virus.
Other than that, our advice to people, which is really important, is that they should access testing if they have one of the symptoms of Covid that we regularly remind people of.
We have seen, over recent weeks, that testing in Scotland has increased rapidly and substantially. The most recent figures that can be accessed comparing countries across the UK show that we are testing proportionately more people per head of population.
We work with the UK Government on this, and we will continue to do so as we develop capacity and develop the approaches that we take to testing, in line with our learning about the virus.
I accept that the community testing technology is complex and may not quite be there yet, but we have seen experts such as Professor Jose Vazquez-Boland, chair of infectious diseases at Edinburgh university, and Professor Hugh Pennington explain that we need more than the current measures if we are going to eradicate Covid-19, and identifying those who are asymptomatic, through mass testing, is a really important tool.
The First Minister says that she is working with the UK Government towards mass testing. That is really positive. Is she able to give a bit more information on how she hopes that that will be achieved, and does she have any timescales for informing the public about it?
We will keep the public informed on an on-going basis. We have published, in recent weeks, our testing strategy, which is available on the Scottish Government website and is kept under review.
I am a firm believer in, if you like, a twin-track approach. We have to focus on the future and we have to commit to trying to develop approaches, even if they are not yet fully enough developed to be implemented now. That is the right approach to developing not just mass testing, but mass rapid testing.
We also have to focus, right now, on the fundamentals of making sure that our current approach to testing can be properly implemented. That is why the development and launch today of Protect Scotland is so important. Having initially decided not to have a Scotland-specific app, we decided to have one when we saw the success of the app on which ours is based in the Republic of Ireland and, more recently, Northern Ireland.
We will focus on the here and now: making sure that people who need testing get access to it quickly. The testing system is largely within a UK-wide network, so we require to work with the UK Government to make sure that we can access that appropriately for Scotland, and we are doing that. We will also look to develop new approaches in the future, as soon as the technology and our ability to implement that is where we need it to be.
Everyone is in agreement on the importance of testing within the suite of tools that are at our disposal, so I will ask the First Minister about a very specific aspect of the testing regime.
We found out yesterday that only 5 per cent of people who are coming into our airports have been contacted by the national contact tracing centre. The most recent Public Health Scotland statistical report said that 631 people were contacted out of the 13,607 who were required to quarantine.
We know that the transport secretary and airport chiefs met earlier this week to discuss that. Will the First Minister commit to introducing a package of support for airport testing, as aviation chiefs have asked?
There are two issues wrapped up in that question, which I will take separately.
The current approach from Public Health Scotland is to contact a sample of those coming into the country every week who are required to quarantine. We set a target of 20 per cent, or 450 people—whichever was the greatest. Last week, we reached 631 people. The health secretary recently announced additional funding for new contact tracers, with the aim of contacting up to 2,000 passengers a week, from October. That is under the current system.
The second part of the question was whether there is an alternative to quarantine, in whole or in part, through testing of people coming into the country. We have been discussing that with airports, just as the UK Government has, and we are considering that.
To put it bluntly, this is a calculation of the risk of different approaches and the risk that we think it is appropriate to take. We know that the incubation period for the virus is 14 days, so if we test somebody coming into the country on day 1 and they test negative, that does not mean that they will not test positive a day, four days or 14 days later. We would have to be testing at different points, and not everybody would be captured. That said, to be frank, not everybody is captured by quarantine, either.
This is a balance of risk, and those discussions are on-going. I would hope that, in not too much time, we will have alternatives to quarantine that allow us to make more use of testing. However, we have to be sure that the arrangements that we have in place, whatever they are, are providing the maximum protection against the importation of the virus, which remains one of the significant risks that we face.
Covid-19 Testing Strategy
I thank the First Minister for advance sight of her statement.
When we started to come out of lockdown, we made clear our view that there must be the agility to pause and to go back, as well as to go forward in the process, and that there must be transparency in the science to back it up. The science tells us that across much of Scotland the virus is on the rise again, and that there is no room for complacency. Therefore, we support the cautionary approach that the First Minister has taken today.
However, something that must concern us all is that, in Scotland’s testing strategy, which was published only last month, the Government said that its target is to have a daily testing capacity of 65,000. Yesterday, only 14,341 tests were carried out. When schools returned a few weeks ago the testing system in Scotland faced extra pressure, and it buckled.
The First Minister can launch a new app today, but at the Covid-19 Committee yesterday Professor Linda Bauld warned that
“If we cannot get rapid testing, we really are in trouble.”
Professor Bauld is right, is she not?
I did not hear the particular comment that Richard Leonard referred to. However, as I said yesterday when I was asked about other comments made by Professor Bauld, I listen to her very carefully. She is one of the many experts we are lucky to have in Scotland. She talks a lot of sense, and her advice is always important.
I am going to try not to be too technical here. The issues that Richard Leonard raised are important and very legitimate, and we are working our way through them to ensure that we continue to build both the capacity and resilience of the testing system. The technical bit, which I will not go into at too much length and which I alluded to in my reply to Ruth Davidson, is that a large part of our testing system is part of a United Kingdom-wide network, including the Glasgow Lighthouse lab and drive-through centres, and therefore capacity and access to testing are managed across the UK.
We are working with the UK to ensure that Scotland’s access to capacity is appropriate and fair, and during the past few weeks we have probably used more than our population’s share. That is partly because of the rise in demand as our schools went back; we have seen that demand recede a little bit. Although there will be issues—there have been some issues about turnaround time with postal tests, for example—over the past few days we have not seen issues with access to testing for people who need it or, as was the case when the schools went back, with people being referred to testing centres that are some distance away.
We have seen—and this will be a reflection of England’s schools going back—a rise in demand in England that reflected ours when our schools went back. I do not want to overstate this, but I have some concern that rises in demand in England might impact on Scotland’s access to testing. That is why we continue to work closely with the UK Government on that.
Right now, and during the last number of days, there has not been an issue with people in Scotland who need testing getting rapid access to it. The figures that Richard Leonard quoted are actually figures that were reported yesterday for 8 September. Today’s figure—which I appreciate is not published yet, so Richard Leonard could not be expected to have it—is that around 17,000 tests were carried out yesterday. Those are tests carried out, not capacity. For some of the reasons that I have mentioned, capacity fluctuates daily right now. The target that he referred to is still the one that we are looking at. I assure Richard Leonard and the chamber that, on a daily basis, the health secretary and I look very closely at all those issues to ensure that people in Scotland who need testing have access to it.
I thank the First Minister for that answer, although I reflect that the actual number of tests carried out yesterday—or the day before and reported yesterday—is still 50,000 below the target figure.
Let me move on to something else. Any new restrictions and local lockdowns have a significance because they have an impact on all our lives and wellbeing. However, research shows that Scotland’s children and young people, and younger children in particular, have found the past six months especially hard to cope with—so much so that mental health organisations came together last Friday to unite in warning of the coming mental health crisis.
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition forecast that Scotland’s children and young people face “a perfect storm” and called for “a national crusade” to tackle that. It also said:
“The Government needs to work urgently with the relevant authorities to ensure that not only is there sufficient provision available at the local community level, but that this is clearly communicated and easily accessible for young people and their parents or carers.”
What urgent action is the Government taking to calm that perfect storm?
I thank Richard Leonard for that question, but first I want to cover off part of his previous question, in the interests of public understanding. The target figure is for capacity. We have been deliberately seeking to build the capacity that we will need in winter, which is much higher than the capacity required by the demand that we have now. The figure that Richard Leonard quoted for the day before yesterday, and which he is right about, is the demand figure. It is demand-led. It is not accurate to compare those two figures . I know that such things are complex. We have a capacity target that is designed to reflect what we anticipate demand will be in the winter, which is not necessarily what demand is now.
On the issue of young people and mental health, there are few more important things in our response to the crisis than catering to the needs of young people. Everybody has found the past six months difficult, but there is no group in our population that has suffered more than young people. They have spent months out of school, away from their friends, and often they have not seen their grandparents for long periods of time. The impact on their mental health and wellbeing has been significant.
That is why it was so important to get children back to school full time. I am pleased that we were able to do that and that, so far, we have been able to keep schools open. The cautious approach that Richard Leonard has supported is partly to enable us to keep schools open. We are also mindful of the need to ensure that mental health services are appropriate.
As members have commented and interacted with me on, we already had a challenge with child and adolescent mental health services. Before Covid, we were in a process of re-designing and investing in those services. That work continues and we must now make sure that we take account of the effects of Covid. For example, the commitment to have counsellors in schools will be delivered by next month, and we continue to take forward plans for a community wellbeing service that will be more accessible, in a preventative sense, to young people who require it.
Let me come on to child and adolescent mental health services, because those are central to my question. The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition also warned last week that the Covid-19 restrictions have negatively impacted on young people who were struggling already with anxiety and depression. It goes so far as to warn of a “lost generation”. Services are still not equipped to deal with the demand that there is.
It is now two years on from the damning Audit Scotland report into rejected CAMHS referrals, which made 29 critical recommendations to overhaul the system. The fact is that only seven of those recommendations have been actioned to date. Two years ago, when that report first came out, I asked the First Minister whether she would reform the system of referrals, but it remains largely unreformed and unchanged. Figures from over the lockdown period show a 55 per cent drop in CAMHS referrals. They show that more than 1,100 young people have been waiting more than a year for treatment. They also show that, between April and June this year, more than 900 referrals to CAMHS were again rejected. That was supposed to have changed.
Will the First Minister accept that her Government has failed to implement the recommendations of the 2018 Audit Scotland report on rejected referrals to CAMHS? Will she accept that the Government is letting down a whole generation of young people? On world suicide prevention day, will she finally, once and for all, put an end to rejected referrals?
I accept that there is much more to do. I will write to Richard Leonard with an update on the progress on and implementation of the recommendations in the report that he refers to because they are important. Some of the work that was under way had been disrupted by Covid—I will come to that—but it remains vital that we take that work forward.
It is correct to say that there has been a drop in referrals, although—and I do not have the figures in front of me—I know that referrals have started to increase again. The drop was largely because of the inability to have face-to-face services during the Covid pandemic. Many health boards—and I know that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has done particular work on this—have used the unfortunate necessity of reduced referrals to catch up on some patients who have been waiting longer. That work has been during the pandemic period.
In the past couple of years, we have continued to invest heavily in CAMHS, and there are more people working in CAMHS. However, fundamentally, we require to reform and put more emphasis on prevention and early intervention and less on specialist services, so that those services are there for those who need them. That work is under way and it will pick up again as—I hope—we come out of the Covid situation. I also referred to the counsellors in schools and the wellbeing service. All of that is about the vital work that we need to do to ensure that the investment that we are putting in delivers for the young people who need those services.
Finally, Richard Leonard referred to a quote about a “lost generation”, and I understand the fears that lie behind that. All of us—me in particular—have an absolute duty to do everything that we can, not just in mental health but across a range of things, to make sure that that phrase does not come to pass and that this generation of young people do not bear the long-term legacy of Covid. That is a duty and a responsibility that I take very seriously.
Walk-in Testing Centres (University Towns)
I echo the support that has been expressed for the Protect Scotland app and reassure anyone who has not downloaded it already that it is really quick and easy to do, so I encourage everyone to do it.
Like everybody across the chamber and across the country, the Scottish Greens are deeply concerned about the rise in new infections in Scotland. Some experts are warning that it could be the start of a second wave, but we must not treat that as inevitable. We can stop the rise, but to do so we need to put aside any hint of a blame game and work together. As the First Minister has indicated, this must not be about stigmatising young people or any other group in the population; it is about providing clear rules and ensuring that systems and support are in place so that they can be followed.
We saw that the testing system broke down when children returned to school last month, and universities will commence their terms next week. We need to make sure that the same does not happen again, so that students and staff are kept safe. Can the First Minister confirm how many walk-in testing centres are open and operational in our university towns, and can she reassure students and staff that demand will be met?
First, I thank Patrick Harvie for his support of the Protect Scotland app. I am told that, since we have been speaking in First Minister’s question time, another 50,000 people have downloaded the app, so the total number is now over 200,000, which is very positive.
I endorse Patrick Harvie’s comment that we must not treat a continued resurgence of Covid as inevitable. That does not mean that we should underestimate how difficult it is to keep it under control and drive it down further, particularly as we go into the winter, but we must focus on doing that and must not see it as inevitable that we will have to deal with a second wave.
I will get information to Patrick Harvie this afternoon—I do not have it in front of me—on the sequence of the walk-in centres that we have committed to having in place over this month, with the order and dates for their opening. The one at St Andrews is open, as I have already indicated. They are part of the overall number of walk-in centres that we are using to make testing more accessible. However, we have, for the reasons that Patrick Harvie spoke about, prioritised areas where there is a university population. I think that the one around the University of Glasgow is due to open this week, and it will be followed by others.
In addition, as members will be aware, last week we published updated guidance for further and higher education that looks at blended learning arrangements on campus, the use of face coverings and shared accommodation. I know that the universities and colleges take very seriously their responsibility to keep the student population safe.
I am grateful for that answer, and I look forward to any further information that the First Minister can provide. Last month, we saw some families being told to travel halfway across the country to get a test, and it will simply not be acceptable if the same thing happens with student populations.
Elsewhere in our education system, the Educational Institute of Scotland warned yesterday that children with additional support needs, but particularly those with more complex needs, are receiving inadequate support in our schools because staffing levels are simply insufficient for teachers to be able to follow the guidance while providing the close contact and support that those pupils need. One teacher said that, in addition to their usual job, teachers are having to do the enhanced cleaning that is required throughout the day, because no cleaning staff are available.
Pupils with ASN are some of the most vulnerable in our schools and, very often, they suffered the most during lockdown. It simply is not good enough if they are not getting the support and resources that they need to thrive. What will the First Minister do today to provide the enhanced staffing that is needed, so that teachers can do the best for all pupils with additional support needs in this challenging time?
We have already taken significant action, but I do not underestimate how challenging this is for teachers across our education system. From memory, I think that £58 million of additional funding has been made available to local authorities, to help with things such as enhanced cleaning. We have also made funding available to increase substantially the number of teachers who are working in our schools, to help with exactly the challenges that Patrick Harvie mentioned.
We will continue to work closely, through the education recovery group, with the EIS and others to make sure that further challenges are properly supported.
This is not easy for anyone; it is not easy for young people or teachers in our schools. One positive thing, which I hope is an indication that some of the challenges that have inevitably been faced and the anxiety that many parents, teachers and young people felt as schools went back are, if not disappearing, easing a little bit, is that school attendance is rising and the number of young people who are absent from school for Covid-related reasons has reduced significantly since the first few days of the term.
We keep—and the education secretary keeps—very close to all those things as we do everything we can to ensure that those who are working on the front line, whether in our education system or in our NHS, have the support and the resources that they need.
Test and Protect
I thank the First Minister for advance sight of her statement. We are facing months more under the thumb of the virus. The First Minister says that test and protect is working well. However, when I asked Professor Linda Bauld in the COVID-19 Committee yesterday about the system, she warned that the test part is not fully working and is causing concern. She said that, if we cannot get rapid testing, we really are in trouble. She also said that quarantine is not being followed. Only one in four people says that they fully comply. Does the First Minister really think that what she is doing on testing and quarantining is enough?
No, I do not think that any of the things that any of us is doing right now is necessarily enough. That is why we continue to support, expand and build the resilience of the systems.
I think that test and protect is working well, and I think that the evidence supports that. The test part, as I mentioned in detail when responding to Ruth Davidson, is part of a networked United Kingdom system. There are aspects of that system that require us to co-operate with the UK Government, to ensure that any challenges are overcome and any concerns are addressed.
I have a concern—I do not want to overstate this—that rising demand in other parts of the UK could have an impact on the capacity or turnaround times in Scotland, but we will continue to work through those issues. We are all trying to achieve the same things, and we will continue to work constructively with other Governments across the UK to expand testing capacity and resilience and to use new technology that allows testing to be done in a different way and much more rapidly. In Scotland, we have already procured tests that are done much more quickly at the point of care. Those things are important on an on-going basis.
The protect part of test and protect is probably working even better, given the numbers that are published. Again, however, we are not complacent about those. This is where Scotland is perhaps doing a bit better than some other parts of the UK. We are seeing well over 90 per cent of contacts and well over 90 per cent of index cases traced.
On quarantine, I accept the challenges for the travelling public, airports and airlines, and the challenge for any system to be absolutely watertight and foolproof. Therefore, we must look at how we can tighten things up and at alternative ways of doing things, which we continue to do.
None of this is straightforward and none of this is easy, but it is all-important that we try to keep the virus under control.
What I would say—this relates back to Patrick Harvie’s comment—is that we should be very vigilant about the situation that we are in right now. We should be very cautious and hear the warning sounds very clearly. However, we should also reflect on the progress that we have made since the earlier part of the year. We are in a stronger position. I hope that means that, if we all—the Government especially—do the right things and if the public all—as they have done so well—get behind the public health advice, we will not have to accept the inevitability of what might otherwise happen. We can all have an impact in keeping it under control.
I urge the First Minister to read the full Official Report of yesterday’s meeting of the COVID-19 Committee. Professor Bauld was very concerned about the test element of the test and protect strategy and, in particular, our capacity for and utilisation of testing. She was also very concerned about the quarantine aspect. As we have seen from this week’s figures, more than 800 people have been missed by the quarantine spot checks. When one person in four is not complying with the rules, that is a real concern.
We are turning a dark corner in people’s hopes and expectations. In their minds, we were preparing for recovery and for the elimination of the virus, but now we are being taken backwards. I was therefore most concerned by what Professor Bauld also said yesterday when she warned about the prospect of there being social unrest. Will the First Minister say what plans she has on that front and how she proposes to avoid such unrest happening?
Before I respond to Willie Rennie’s comments, I say that all of us should, as elected politicians, see it as part of our duty to avoid social unrest and to take very seriously our responsibility to explain such matters to the public and to encourage them to do the right things. I think that all members from across the chamber will be doing so.
I am not blind to the challenges on the issues of testing and quarantine—I take such matters very seriously. Because of the way in which the test and protect system is structured, we require to work with the UK Government on the test part. That sometimes makes those challenges more difficult, but it is nevertheless the right thing to do in order to ensure that we have that system operating across the whole of the UK.
Although I accept the limitations of the quarantine system and the desirability of having alternative approaches to it, one point that is not fully understood is that every single person who comes into the country and who is required to quarantine—100 per cent of them—will be contacted by email. The phone call follow-up is the sample bit of that process. There is therefore contact with every one of those people. However, we do have to work hard to make the systems that we have in place to mitigate the virus all the more effective.
I stress that elimination is—and must continue to be—our objective. It will not happen at a fixed point in time. We have always said that we will go backwards and forwards as we come out of lockdown. Elimination is not the same as eradication, which will happen only with a vaccine.
However, the reason that we are being cautious again today is that we must continue to bear down on the rates of infection. If we are to achieve elimination, we must drive those rates as low as possible and must not accept that it is okay to have a certain level of the virus circulating. Sometimes, the rate will be higher than at other times, but the objective of driving it as low as possible remains absolutely essential.
I will read the full Official Report of Professor Linda Bauld’s evidence, since it has been mentioned a couple of times. As I have said before, I have a huge amount of respect for her.
However, the point is that, as we go further through the pandemic, it becomes harder for the public—and for all of us—to follow all the advice. Every single one of us will identify with that feeling. Therefore the duty on all of us as politicians—and, I accept, principally on me—is to explain as clearly as possible why we are asking people to do certain things and what the reasons for those things are.
We must also explain why, where necessary, we have enforcement measures in place so that people who flagrantly breach the law—for example, someone who holds a house party for several hundred people—experience the consequences of that. It is important to make people understand that we are not putting those restrictions on them for no reason; it is for good reason.
Inevitably, as we get further into the pandemic, the messages will become more complex and people will become more fatigued, which is why it is more important than ever that we continue patiently and fully to explain why all those measures remain vital.
I remind members that I will take all supplementary questions after question 7.
Domestic Abuse
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to support victims of domestic abuse in light of reports of increased incidents during the Covid-19 pandemic. (S5F-04373)
As many others have done, I have previously expressed my deep concern about the greater risks to women and children of domestic abuse during the pandemic. I again make a plea to anyone who is suffering such abuse to seek the help that exists.
Police Scotland continues to prioritise domestic abuse cases, and the Scottish Government is focused on ensuring that front-line services continue to provide support. We have allocated an additional £1.5 million to Scottish Women’s Aid and other such services and have recently published a new online resource for those working in housing, social work, health, education and other sectors to enable them to know where to direct people for further assistance. We remain committed to implementing the equally safe strategy and will introduce legislation on domestic abuse protection orders within this parliamentary session.
Women who are experiencing domestic abuse often have to make a devastating choice between staying in the home of the perpetrator or making themselves and their children homeless to get away from the abuse. One way of giving women much-needed breathing space in such situations is through emergency protective orders. How will the new domestic abuse bill give police and courts powers to ban domestic abusers from victims’ homes?
The bill will provide new powers to impose restrictions on a suspected perpetrator of domestic abuse, including removing them from a home that they share with the person at risk and prohibiting them from contacting or otherwise abusing the person at risk while the order is in effect. The bill will also facilitate processes for changes to be made to social housing tenancy agreements to help victims stay in their own homes by giving powers to remove perpetrators from tenancy agreements. Too often, in the past and currently, it is the victim of abuse rather than the perpetrator who is faced with losing their home; we need to change that.
The measures are intended to provide protection for the person at risk and to enable them to take steps to address their longer-term safety and housing without them becoming homeless in order to protect themselves. I hope that those measures, which of course still have to go through the full scrutiny of Parliament, will help considerably with protecting those who are most at risk of domestic abuse.
Airports (Support)
To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is helping airports to survive during the Covid-19 pandemic. (S5F-04361)
The global downturn in aviation that has been caused by Covid has had a significant impact on airports and airlines around the world, including here. We have provided support to the sector within the powers that are available to us. Airports and ground handling companies have been granted 100 per cent non-domestic rates relief this year and we have also called on the United Kingdom Government to extend the job retention scheme to help the aviation industry through the winter season.
Our immediate focus is on helping airports to recover their route networks to maximise the potential for a return to connectivity and employment. We will also do everything that we can to help airports secure new routes. Scotland has a good record on that; in 2019, Scotland was better connected than ever before.
It will take time for demand to return; indeed, it will take time for us to recommend that people travel as they did before Covid. However, in the meantime, we will continue to do what we can to help the sector to recover.
Over the past week, I have spoken to airport bosses based in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. They have painted a dire picture, in which thousands of jobs could be at risk and Scotland certainly will not be connected to the world. They are crying out for help and, as the First Minister knows, they want an airport testing regime that could reduce the need to quarantine.
I have also spoken to the wider travel sector. Barrhead Travel told me that Scotland risks losing an industry that contributes £1.7 billion to our economy and employs over 25,000 people. Earlier, Ruth Davidson mentioned figures that showed that less than 5 per cent of those people arriving in Scotland last week who were required to quarantine have been contacted by the national contact tracing centre. Surely, if we tested everyone on arrival, we would have 100 per cent contact and we could reduce the need for quarantine—is 100 per cent contact not better than less than 5 per cent?
As I said to Willie Rennie, there is 100 per cent contact with people coming into the country who are subject to quarantine. They are all contacted by email and then a sample is contacted by telephone. Public Health Scotland can also involve the police if there are concerns about flagrant breaching of quarantine.
If we simply tested people on day 1 of their coming into the country, we could test 100 per cent of people, but we would then let into the country a significant percentage of people who had Covid because, unfortunately, if people are at an early stage in the incubation period, they test negative for Covid. The ability to test on day 1 and then test later as well is being explored. We would still not capture everybody, so we have to make some careful judgments about the balance of risk. We cannot simply be sanguine and shrug our shoulders about people coming into the country with Covid.
I think that Graham Simpson will find that there is not as much disagreement between us on the issue as he thinks there is. However, I presume that if what he asks for were as simple as he is making it out to be, his colleagues in the UK Government would already have done it, but they have not, for the same reasons as the Scottish Government has not yet done it. It involves complex issues to do with public health as well as logistics, efficacy and practicality, and we are all working through those issues as carefully and quickly as we can.
We all want to have a better alternative to quarantine. If that was as easy as the member makes out, other Governments to which he is perhaps more favourable would have found ways to do it, but they have not.
Homeless Households (Accommodation)
To ask the First Minister for what reason the Scottish Government is delaying the ban on placing homeless households in unsuitable accommodation, which it announced in May 2020. (S5F-04365)
We remain very committed to extending the unsuitable accommodation order to all homeless households in the current parliamentary session, which in effect will end the use of bed and breakfasts as temporary accommodation, other than in emergency situations.
Temporary exemptions were created in May, which allowed for placements in hotels and B and Bs where needed. That has effectively kept people off the streets and in safe and secure accommodation during the pandemic. We are extending those exemptions until the end of January, given the on-going challenges that we still face. We recognise the challenges that local authorities are facing as a result of the pandemic and that supplies of suitable temporary accommodation have been limited due to restrictions on the turnover of void properties as a result of lockdown. The decision was reached with the support of councils, which remain focused on ensuring that people have somewhere safe and warm to live.
I am sure that the First Minister will agree that people who are experiencing homelessness are in a state of crisis and that that is compounded when they are in unsuitable accommodation, such as hostels or bed and breakfasts. Research shows the effect on people’s physical and mental health. The situation affects their sense of safety and their ability to maintain a normal life, including cooking for themselves and accessing laundry facilities, which makes life very difficult. We whole-heartedly welcomed the decision to extend the seven-day restriction on time spent in unsuitable accommodation to all people to ensure that all homeless people are treated equally.
I accept what the First Minister says about the challenges in today’s world, but I would like a guarantee—or as firm a commitment as she can give—that that will be done as soon as practically possible after January, and that the timetable will not slip unless there is a good reason for that.
I have already said that we are very committed to doing that within the current parliamentary session. Given the current circumstances, it would not be responsible of me to say that without any caveat. I agree 100 per cent with Pauline McNeill that, in normal times, permanent settled accommodation is always better than B and B and temporary accommodation. In the pandemic situation, because of some of the wider factors that we have had to deal with, access to B and B and temporary accommodation has often been the difference between someone being in accommodation and their being on the streets and not safe. We have to look at that relative to the current circumstances.
I hope that, by January, we will be in a better position. The commitment is there and it is strong but, in the current situation, we have to be aware of the uncertainties and recognise that the most important thing is to ensure that people are not on the streets during a pandemic. If, in these unique circumstances, that means that people are in B and B or temporary accommodation, that is better than their being on the streets. In normal times, settled accommodation is always the best, and that is what we continue to aim for.
We move to supplementary questions.
Glasgow Rocks Basketball Team
The First Minister might be aware of Glasgow Rocks, which is Scotland’s leading basketball team and is based in my constituency. The team is very worried about whether elite players will have to come in through quarantine and when spectators can come back. Can she offer the team any reassurance?
Obviously, we are happy to engage directly with Glasgow Rocks about specific concerns that it has and the reasons for those. I am fairly sure that sportscotland has already been in contact with Glasgow Rocks and provided it with details of our guidance on the resumption of performance sport. As I say, there is an offer of more specific support via the institute of sport to ensure that all the necessary protocols are in place. If there are more specific issues on which the team wants further guidance, we would be happy to facilitate that. I am sure that we all wish the team every success once the season resumes.
Grantown-on-Spey (Covid-19 Testing)
The First Minister will be aware that 37 people in Grantown-on-Spey have tested positive for Covid-19, including a care home worker. At the outset, given the concerns of staff and residents, and at their request, I contacted the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, and she confirmed that the tests that are carried out in that care home are being diverted to Raigmore hospital for analysis.
However, NHS Highland’s director of public health confirmed that NHS Highland could not analyse the type of tests that had been diverted to it. I ask the First Minister to explain why the Scottish Government diverted tests to a lab that could not analyse them and, indeed, subsequently lost them, which meant that complete retesting was required and led to subsequent delays.
Will the First Minister please give me an undertaking that she will personally investigate the situation? The issues that have arisen do not give me or the residents of Grantown the confidence in the test and protect system that we should have, especially given that, this morning, NHS Highland not only dispatched incomplete testing kits to the care home but required care home staff to go back to Raigmore to pick up more.
I will certainly have the health secretary look into the specific issues that have arisen. I am not aware of the particular problems around testing, but I know that the local teams in Grantown-on-Spey have been working very hard and, I think, very effectively to make sure that the cluster of cases in question is kept under control.
The most recent information that I had was that the cluster consisted of 37 cases, most of which are linked to the local abattoir; there are just two cases in the wider community. I do not dismiss the challenges that Edward Mountain has raised, which we will look into, but those figures are a real tribute to test and protect—they show that it has stopped a workplace cluster seeping into the wider community. I thank everybody who has helped to achieve that so far.
Dental Care (Access for National Health Service Patients)
Last month, the Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing said that independent dentists were being encouraged to follow the spirit of the route map, but constituents tell me that it is still the case that those who can afford private dental care have access to a wide range of treatments that are unavailable to national health service patients.
Does the First Minister agree that private patients are not at less of a risk to themselves or to dental staff than NHS patients are? Will she therefore review her advice on dental health to ensure that people are not left suffering simply because they cannot afford to pay for private treatment?
In summary, yes. Since the public health minister gave his answer, I think—if I have got the timing of that right—that there has been movement in what NHS dentists can offer by way of services. The use of aerosol-generating procedures for urgent care is now possible. There is a different relationship between dentists who deliver private care and the Scottish Government. The national clinical director, who has a dentistry background, has encouraged them to comply with the guidance that is set out for the dental profession, and the chief dental officer has worked very hard with the profession generally.
Our focus is on allowing people to access the fullest possible range of dental services on the NHS as quickly and as soon as it is safely possible for them to do so. Throughout the pandemic, a number of emergency centres across the country have provided people with access to urgent and emergency care.
If I have not covered every aspect of the question in my answer, I will ask the public health minister to write to Elaine Smith with a fuller update on what is now possible and what we hope to make possible in the coming weeks.
Protect Scotland App (Use of Information)
What assurances can the First Minister give users of the new test and protect app that our contact information will be held securely and that privacy will be respected at all times?
I am getting a running commentary on download from the Deputy First Minister, who tells me that more than a quarter of a million people in Scotland have now signed up to the app, which is fantastic. I thank everybody who has done that, and I ask those who have not to please do so.
Privacy and confidentiality have been at the centre of the development of the app. I am not a technical expert but, in summary, the app does not track a person’s location; it generates random codes that tell whether they have been in contact with someone within 2m for 15 minutes or more. Those codes are retained for only 14 days, I think, but they allow people to be notified. There is no passing on of data; in fact, very minimal data is collected by the app. Of course, if you are told that you have been in close contact with somebody who has tested positive, you have no idea who that person is, and when the person who tests positive puts their testing code into the app, they do not know who will be notified. Anonymity, confidentiality and privacy are built into the app, and that is an important assurance for people.
Outdoor Education Centres (Financial Support)
This week, the Scottish Government announced that it was unable to agree financial support to outdoor education centres. As a result, closures may well be inevitable. For many young people, breaks at such centres were often the only opportunity to enjoy life-enhancing experiences; the announcement could also result in loss of employment in rural areas, where jobs are at a premium.
Will the First Minister and her Government reconsider their stance and commit to investing in such facilities, which will help to ensure the health and mental wellbeing of young people during the Covid-19 crisis?
I absolutely agree on the value of outdoor education centres and the importance of the work that they do. It is regrettable that, because of public health advice, the overnight services that they are able to offer are still limited.
It is important to say, though, that many organisations with outdoor education centres are in the third sector, so they have been able to apply for support through the third sector resilience fund. Education centres can also access financial support through the United Kingdom Government’s job retention scheme, and we hope that that will be continued.
We will continue to work with the sector. We funded the Scottish Advisory Panel for Outdoor Education to develop guidance for schools and councils on day visits to outdoor centres—the guidance was published in mid-August, I think—because we are trying to work with the sector to maximise what it can do and what it can offer, which is of course a way of ensuring maximum income.
We absolutely understand the importance of outdoor education centres and we will continue to work with the sector to provide whatever support is possible.
Retail Sector (Covid-19 Measures)
I certainly do not underestimate the gravity of the Covid situation or the difficult decisions and judgments that are having to be made, and I want to acknowledge the good communication that we have had in Scotland over this period.
However, I want to focus on the retail sector. When lockdown and social distancing began, a lot of retailers counted the numbers of people who were entering their shops, but that practice is starting to slip in some areas, which is worrying a lot of people. On social media yesterday, I saw a gentleman who I recognise and who I know has underlying health issues saying that he was in his local Co-op and there was no social distancing and people were not wearing masks. I have experienced that, too.
Will the Government talk to the retail sector about the fact that we have to remain vigilant and protect people? I have talked to a lot of shop workers, who are on the front line, and they are saying that their employers are not enforcing social distancing, so they feel at risk.
Alex Rowley is right to raise the concern. I recognised earlier, in my statement, the enormous amount of work that the hospitality sector has done to try to ensure that it is providing safe spaces for people, and I think that it is also appropriate for me to recognise the enormous amount of work that I know the retail sector has done. I am very grateful for that.
I will come back in a second to people who work in shops, because I do not necessarily want this to be directed at shop workers. In general, however, for businesses, as for individuals, the longer we go through this, the harder it is to comply with what is required. I understand that, but it also becomes more important.
I have heard anecdotes and have had emails sent to me saying that there are systems that were put in place at the outset—one-way systems, for example—that retail is not operating now. Shops are of different shapes and sizes and they have to put in place the systems that work for them, but there is guidance in place for sectors across our economy, and we expect those sectors to comply with that guidance.
In direct response to the question that Alex Rowley asked me, we will continue to engage with retail to make sure that that guidance is being applied properly in shops across the country.
Shop workers are on the front line. The job that they do is very different from the jobs of people on the front line of our public services, but they are on the front line and they are more exposed to the virus than many of the rest of us are. We therefore have a particular duty to help to keep them safe. Those that they work for also have a duty to keep them safe, and the public have a duty to help to keep them safe, which is why I appeal to the public. Make sure that you wear your face covering and take responsibility for physical distancing. Do not give any grief to shop workers who ask you to do those things, because they are doing their job, and they are doing it responsibly.
I keep coming back to this point. I do not want this to sound saccharine and clichéd, but it will take the effort of all of us to get through this—and we will get through this. This is the only time in my life that I can remember when it is true to say that none of us can cope alone; the collective efforts of all of us will determine how successfully and quickly we get through the pandemic. Every one of us has a part to play, and I appeal to everybody to play their part.
This is all an enormous pain in the neck, but the measures are really important in order to keep everybody, including shop workers, safe. At this moment, let us all resolve to tighten up our compliance with all the measures. If we do that, we will get through the pandemic more quickly.
Quarantine (International Travel)
Although the priority remains minimising infection and saving lives, can post-travel quarantine be done differently? If there is a viral spike in one part of an overseas country, is it necessary to impose a blanket quarantine on all travellers from that country? Quarantining folk from Mallorca because of an outbreak in Madrid makes no more sense than locking down Shetland because of infections in Stranraer. A broad-brush approach increases uncertainty, damages our travel industry, ruins holidays and deters visits from family and loved ones who live overseas. Will the Scottish Government therefore consider a more nuanced and flexible approach to quarantine?
Yes, we consider that. On a weekly basis, we look at the data that comes principally from the joint biosecurity centre, which gives data to the four United Kingdom nations. Increasingly, we also look at the data from the test and protect system, which, as well as trying to keep us all safe, is a rich—and getting richer—source of information about exactly where the risks are coming from.
We will always try to be as effective as possible, in as proportionate a way as possible. It is really important that we take steps that can effectively minimise the risk of importation of the virus. For example, we took the decision a couple of weeks ago to put quarantine requirements on people who come back from Greece, largely because the test and protect system told us that dozens of people who had tested positive in Scotland had reported recent travel in Greece. We were able to act in that case, and I think that we acted rightly. If the data allows it, we will be able to target the measures more effectively.
This is really difficult for everybody, particularly for the aviation sector. I absolutely understand that. I am sorry if this sounds really basic, but this is a global pandemic, which is accelerating globally. Therefore—it gives me no pleasure to say this—my advice to people right now has to be to think very carefully about non-essential foreign travel, given the gravity of the situation that the world is facing.
I hope that, before too long, that advice will change but, right now, the Government has a duty to minimise the risks of the virus spreading. One of the biggest risks that we face is the importation of the virus from elsewhere in the world. Such decisions are difficult. We will try to make them as proportionate as possible, but our most important obligation is to keep people as safe as possible.
European Union Negotiations (Fishing Rights)
An article in The Times newspaper on Tuesday reported that a Scottish Government delegation in Brussels suggested to European Union officials that United Kingdom negotiators should make concessions to the EU on fishing rights in the Brexit talks. I am sure that the First Minister will realise that, if that is true, that significantly weakens the UK’s negotiating position and could, therefore, result in a much poorer outcome for our fishermen. Will the First Minister confirm or deny that that conversation took place as reported?
Neither I nor anybody in the Scottish Government has ever tried to undermine the UK’s negotiations with the European Union. Even if we wanted to—which we do not—we would not have to, because the UK is doing such a good job of undermining the negotiations itself.
I ask the member to reflect on what has transpired over the past couple of days. The UK Government has just published a bill that it admits breaks international law. It is trashing the United Kingdom’s international reputation and, frankly, that is disgraceful. That story sounds to me like the UK Government is preparing the ground to sell out Scotland’s fishing industry yet again and is looking for somebody else to blame. When and if it does sell out Scotland’s fishing industry, the only people to blame will be the Tories in the UK Government.
Covid-19 (Diabetes)
The First Minister will be well aware that people with diabetes face a significantly higher risk of dying from Covid-19, with one in three of all coronavirus hospital deaths associated with the condition. Will the First Minister join me in welcoming the United Kingdom ARCADIA trial, in which pre-clinical research has suggested that the glucokinase activator could aid those with diabetes who contract Covid-19?
Yes, I warmly welcome that, and I wish that research and that trial every success. The member is right to raise concerns around people with diabetes and the specific risk factor that appears to be presented, as well as highlighting the good work that is being done to tackle that.
I take this opportunity to praise scientists, experts and clinicians across the country, who are trying to develop the scientific solutions to Covid. I am hugely optimistic that, in time, science will provide us with a way out of this, through better treatments and, ultimately—hopefully—a vaccine. We have some of the best people working on it, and Scotland is more than playing its part. We have some of the best brains in the world working on it, here in Scotland and in the UK, and they deserve our full support. While they are doing their bit in their work, all the rest of us have to do our bit right now to keep the virus under control.
Traffic Regulation (East Craigs and Craigmount)
The City of Edinburgh Council is about to use Government spaces for people money to impose sweeping changes on the communities of East Craigs and Craigmount in my constituency, affecting 3,500 homes. The council has avoided any meaningful consultation, through the use of temporary traffic regulation orders, despite stating openly that the changes are likely to become permanent.
So keen were they to be heard that 1,000 residents recently attended a public meeting that I organised with the council’s transport convener. They are not car enthusiasts; they are normal people. Had the city council asked them, they would have made it clear that the plans will actually lengthen essential car journeys, putting huge additional pressure on arterial routes.
Given that a court in Berlin struck down similar proposals, stating that they were a misuse of the emergency, is the First Minister content that the council administration is acting lawfully and in the spirit of the Government’s funds for community social distancing?
I am happy to look into the specifics in more detail. I absolutely believe that local people should be properly consulted and listened to about local schemes. Alex Cole-Hamilton regularly comes to the chamber and talks to me about the need for greater localism and decentralisation and the need to do more to tackle climate change, so he should perhaps also reflect on that. He is right, however, to voice the interests of his constituents, and I am sure and I hope that the City of Edinburgh Council will listen and take them seriously.
Rave Organisers (Fines)
Following a rave in my constituency that was attended by 300 people, the police had to use the criminal law to charge the event organisers. Under the coronavirus regulations in England and Wales, fines of up to £10,000 can be levied on those organising such events. Given that money is the motive, and that not a thought is being given to public health, hitting the culprits where it hurts, in the pocket, seems an excellent idea. I trailed that idea at the COVID-19 Committee yesterday, and it was favourably received by Professor Bauld and Michael Clancy. Will the Scottish Government consider introducing similar measures here?
There are two contextual points to make here. First, criminal proceedings are under way in relation to that specific case, so I will not comment directly on that. As Christine Grahame knows, being a former lawyer with long experience on the Justice Committee, we have different structures of fines and fixed-penalty notices in Scotland, and we have tried to fit the coronavirus system into those existing systems. They are different here from what is in England.
We will continue to consider whether we can use greater fines and enforcement but, in cases where there has been a flagrant and egregious breach of the law, it is right that the full force of the criminal law is brought to bear on people who do such things. They are not just breaking the law, they are putting lives at risk.
Let us not lose sight of this: it is still the case that all of us, in small ways and large, need to act in a way that saves lives. The virus kills people, and every time we allow it to spread, somebody’s life is potentially at risk. Let us all ensure that we abide by the regulations—and the vast majority of people are doing so. Christine Grahame is right about this: in cases where people are not doing things inadvertently or because they make a mistake, which everybody will do from time to time, but are just flouting the law with no regard for other people’s safety or for human life, the full force of the law should be brought to bear on them.
Merchant Navy Day
On Thursday 3 September, we celebrated merchant navy day with the red ensign being flown on many buildings throughout the United Kingdom, and sea Sunday was celebrated at the weekend. Ninety five per cent of the world’s goods are transported by sea. The British merchant navy plays a huge part in that and its ships, crews and former seafarers are a significant part of Scotland’s veteran community.
Will the First Minister join me in recognising and thanking our British merchant navy crews, ship owners and ship managers for the vital work that they do in crewing and operating our ships worldwide, particularly in light of the extended crewing schedules that are being experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic in order to keep our supplies moving 24/7?
I join the member in paying tribute to our merchant navy crews, ship owners, operators and all those who work so hard to provide and deliver those services, which are important for the reasons that the member has set out. Like the rest of us, their work has been made more difficult because of the circumstances that we are living through. My gratitude goes to them for playing their part in helping to keep the country going through the most difficult of times.
Thank you. My apologies to members whose questions we did not have time for. Parliament will resume at 2:45.
13:46 Meeting suspended.14:45 On resuming—