Question reference: S5W-34591
- Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 14 January 2021
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Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by John Swinney on 14 January 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the COVID-19 legislation in place.
Answer
Amending Regulations were made to the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 today. These Regulations implement the changes that the First Minister announced on Wednesday, 13 January.
In order to address the current, heightened public health risks, the Regulations adjust the restrictions surrounding click and collect services. They also prohibit the consumption of alcohol in outdoor public places and do not allow customers to enter food and drink takeaway outlets in Level 4 areas. These Regulations tighten the existing stay at home requirement to ensure non-essential activities are not undertaken when leaving the home for permitted activities and restrict the ability to carry out work or services for the upkeep, maintenance or functioning of other people’s homes to essential work only in Level 4 areas.
The Regulations also prohibit evictions from taking place in Level 3 or 4 areas and require the closure of child contact centres in Level 4, with the exception of child contact centres which are provided by local authorities. An exception is also made for all contact centres to be allowed to open for the purpose of handovers of a child to a person with whom they do not or will not live, and their return from a handover to a person with whom they do or will live. Finally, the Regulations allow premises which are required to close to the public to open, if it is for the purposes of providing a venue for vaccination.
The Regulations have been published at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ssi/2021/17 .