Question reference: S5W-32830
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 27 October 2020
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Current status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 29 April 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will review the viability and effectiveness of the COVID-19 Strategic Framework measures, and whether this will include an analysis of the impact of moving into the higher tiers on people, in particular on older people and people who are shielding from the virus.
Answer
The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 implemented the new Strategic Framework and came into effect on 2 November 2020.
The regulations enabled a levels based approach to applying protective measures at the local level according to the prevalence and pattern of infection across different parts of Scotland.
Decisions applying areas to levels build on the approach of the Framework for Decision Making, by assessing options for relaxation or restriction, specifically in relation to their impact on the four harms caused by the virus, their viability, and broader considerations including equality impacts, the impact on individual rights and consideration of measures, for example, for specific geographies and sectors. Further regulations to put all of Scotland in a national Stay At Home lockdown came into force on 5 January 2021 to respond to the serious threat posed by the new variant of covid-19 and the very real risk of NHS services being overwhelmed.
A series of Equalities Impact Assessments have been made available with each set of regulations under the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements)(Local levels)(Scotland) Amendment Regulations. These explore the equalities impacts of the Strategic Framework levels restrictions, including on older people and those who are shielding from the virus and are available at the series of links provided below.
These demonstrate the social harms caused by personal isolation from family and friends and loss of wider community connectedness associated with the protective measures, restrictions on visiting relatives in hospitals and residential care home settings. The viability and effectiveness of these measures is assessed at each three week review point to ascertain whether they continue to be justified, necessary and proportionate. The approach seeks to minimise harm across all four of the harms.
The updated Strategic Framework published on 23 February describes a process of phased, prioritised national easings, out of the Stay At Home Level 4 lockdown and through the revised Levels, with indicative dates for further easings as published on 16 March.
In step with these changes, and in line with our legal duty to review all restrictions at least each three weeks, to ensure these remain justified, necessary and proportionate, we committed to undertaking a review of the state of the epidemic and our response to it, to establish whether it is safe to proceed with each new tranche of easings. Consistent with our commitment to transparency in decision making, we also committed to publishing the outcome of these reviews. To inform these reviews we explained our intention to adopt the six criteria recommended by the World Health Organisation in assessing whether it is safe to proceed. Each set of easings will be accompanied by EQIAs that identify new evidence of the cumulative impact of restrictions and the effect of their removal.
On 11 December we published evidence to illustrate how we used the four harms approach to support decisions about activities and restrictions through the Route Map process. A link to the publication is provided below. This included assessment of the impact by age – and on older age groups – as well as by those at greater clinical risk from covid19 as a result of health conditions.
The Scottish Government considered from the outset whether the lockdown provisions were consistent with the Equality Act 2010 and also considered whether the provisions could constitute indirect discrimination. In many cases, the provisions have applied to all persons irrespective of protected characteristic, although we acknowledge that the same provision may not have equal impacts. Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) have been carried out to consider the likely or anticipated impact of the measures contained in the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 and for the respective legislation thereafter.
Regulations+11+-+EQIA+8+Jan-+publication+regulations.pdf (www.gov.scot)