Question reference: S6W-00878
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 18 June 2021
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Current status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 30 June 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much additional funding it has allocated to local authorities to ensure that they have sufficient capacity to inspect and support all hospitality venues in achieving the standards required by COVID-19 regulations.
Answer
We are working closely with Local Authorities, the Health and Safety Executive and Police Scotland to ensure we are taking a joined up approach to enforcement of regulations and wider workplace health measures. We have committed to £2.9m in funding to support Covid related work carried out by Local Authority Environmental Health and Trading Standards Officers to year end 2021-22. We continue to engage with the Local Authorities to understand how this funding is being used to ensure they have the capacity to support businesses including hospitality to comply with the regulations and guidance. Local authorities are responsible for prioritising enforcement work within their area, and they are doing so using a risk based and 4 Es approach (Engage, Explain, Encourage and Enforce).