Chamber and committees

The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) analyses and categorises the nearly 7,000 'data zones' of Scotland by deprivation.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-index-multiple-deprivation-2020/pages/5/

The 2020 SIMD report shows that Inverclyde has a high proportion of data zones which are part of the 40% most deprived data zones in Scotland. A total of 59% of Inverclyde's data zones are from the cohort of the 40% most deprived data zones in Scotland.

Statistics published this week by National Records of Scotland (NRS) show that people living in the most deprived areas of Scotland were 2.3 times more likely to die with COVID-19 than those living in the least deprived areas.

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/covid19stats

Analysis of the NRS data shows that (year to date up to 10 May), Inverclyde local authority had the highest rate of death from COVID-19 across all local authorities (at 132 deaths per 100,000). There will be other factors alongside deprivation that will contribute to this, for example, Inverclyde has a higher proportion of people who are pensionable age (21%) compared to the proportion for Scotland (19%).

Further work is being done by analytical partners across the Scottish Government, NRS, Public Health Scotland and the NHS to consider how we can better understand the impact of COVID-19 on the people of Scotland.

We are working with Public Health Scotland to better understand the link between Covid-19 cases and poverty and deprivation, and how we can best support all vulnerable groups at this time.

PHS has undertaken a range of analyses to look at the impact of deprivation on COVID and non-COVID excess mortality, which it will be publishing as part of its weekly Covid 19 statistical report, in the coming weeks. The current report (13 May) is available here:

https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/population-health/covid-19/covid-19-statistical-report/13-may-2020/

National Records of Scotland have also recently published additional information on COVID-19 deaths and deprivation, available here:

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/covid19stats

As advised by the First Minister on 6 May, following the outbreak of Coronavirus in Scotland the Scottish Government allocated Inverclyde Council £749,000 in hardship funding and £500,000 from the food fund. An additional £447,000 has been allocated in respect of the Scottish Welfare Fund, bringing total funding available to date to £1.3 million.

£125 million of funding has also been committed to support third sector and community efforts across Scotland, and Inverclyde is benefitting from this.

From our Supporting Communities Fund we have awarded £40,000 to Inverclyde Community Development Trust and £140,000 to Oak Tree Housing Association, helping them respond to community needs.

Assessment of applications to the first round of the Wellbeing Fund is almost complete. At this stage, Inverclyde is benefiting from 22 projects approved for support and almost £230,000 of funding. Applications for the second round of funding are being invited by noon on Friday 22nd of May.

People who are at increased risk of severe illness, which includes people over 70, have been advised to strictly follow physical distancing measures. Where individuals are over 70 and have a health condition that puts them at the highest risk of severe illness, our advice remains that they should be shielding.

The Chief Medical Officer has written to those who are being advised to shield with guidance on what to do to keep themselves safe.

The Scottish Government has also undertaken a number of important health campaigns targeting the whole population on specific instructions to protect themselves including Handwashing, Household Isolation and Physical Distancing.

Three specific TV campaigns have to date focused on an older audience – the most recent has provided clarity of advice around going out – as some people may have been self-isolating when they do not need to. Previous campaign messages advised older people how to stay mentally and physically well under the stay at home restrictions and this campaign signposted Age Scotland for advice and support. The current helpline campaign also targets messaging to this group. This approach has also been complemented with the national door drop leaflet which included signposting for information and support including to the national helpline and Age Scotland. We have also encouraged people to look out for older people or other neighbours who may be more at risk, though our community and volunteering campaign.

Our current NHS is Open campaign also encourages those requiring urgent medical attention, or with concerns that are not related to Coronavirus, to continue to seek help via their GP or hospital.

Going forward, Scottish Government marketing activity will continue to raise awareness of the risks and to motivate and support people to comply with guidance, seeking advice from key stakeholders such as Age Scotland to ensure the clarity of our messaging.

The lockdown restrictions in Scotland remain in place to ensure we are protecting people from Covid-19. As restrictions potentially ease and/or change in the future, we acknowledge that advice may not be the same across all groups. We will continue to communicate with older people and those more at risk groups specifically to ensure that our messaging remains clear and unambiguous, to help people follow the correct measures.

We have been absolutely clear that all business workplaces should adopt a precautionary approach by closing to protect the lives of their workers and their families.

Specific guidance for the construction sector, published on 6 April and refreshed on 1 May, clearly states that all non-essential construction work should cease temporarily.

We are very aware that the longer lockdown continues the greater the impact on industry and over the past few weeks we have been continuing to work hard to address the concerns of the sector. I am continuing to chair a series of meetings of the Construction Leadership Forum and a weekly Restart Group. Through the Restart Group we are working closely with industry to develop plans to get back to work safely when the medical evidence suggests it is appropriate to do so, and to ensure we are well-prepared for the eventual re-opening of sites under safe operating procedures.

We are grateful for the continuing support of businesses in the construction sector.

Scottish Government guidance for the construction sector is clear and construction work, unless for or in support of essential projects, should not be continuing.

It is for businesses to determine for themselves if they are supplying a business which is undertaking essential work within the terms of this guidance. However, even where a business judges itself to be able to continue works, it is imperative that they apply social distancing requirements and keep open only those premises, or parts of premises, that are truly critical or essential to the national and international COVID-19 effort.

The Scottish Government understands the importance of protecting our funeral sector from the risk of infectious transmission of COVID-19 via contact with the deceased. We have been working very closely with stakeholders from across the funeral industry to ensure they have access to the most up to date information relevant to them, including guidance from Health Protection Scotland, and information from The Royal College of Pathologists which outlines the PPE required for care of the deceased during the COVID-19 pandemic based upon the official advice.

In addition to this, we will shortly be publishing guidance for funeral directors and burial and cremation authorities, which includes the use of appropriate PPE, to further help these organisations manage their services during the current pandemic.

Scottish Government officials are in daily contact with all Health Boards on the planning and actions required to respond to the COVID-19 emergency.

As part of their mobilisation and business continuity plans, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are working to maximise capacity and deliver contingencies across all their acute hospital sites, including Inverclyde Royal Hospital. Two senior members of the region's management team have been assigned to oversee the site for the duration of the emergency and both are now based in the hospital full time. They are responsible for overseeing all activity carried out on the site, and to identify and implement appropriate contingencies, where required. They are also tasked with quickly highlighting and escalating any significant issues or risks as these arise; to ensure that, wherever possible, they are addressed at the earliest opportunity.

The Scottish Government has had direct engagement with CruiseScotland to discuss the implications of COVID-19 on what is a key part of Scotland's tourism economy. While the main cruise season for Scotland does not pick up until May, we are aware that a number of cruise lines have already chosen to postpone operations in light of the outbreak, and that this will have an impact on ports, visitor attractions and businesses that are reliant on this traffic. We will continue to engage with CruiseScotland, as well as the wider tourism industry, as we work closely with VisitScotland and other public agencies, in both assessing the impacts that this has on the sector and introducing measures to mitigate these, where possible.

In the event of a COVID-19 case being associated with a vessel intending to dock or having docked in a port, well-established protocols exist to allow the relevant NHS and local authority, who are responsible for port health incidents, to effectively prevent any spread and manage the process. The ports sector has been working closely with the various relevant authorities to prepare for and guard against the spread of COVID-19.

In addition, Health Protection Scotland has recently issued a Notice to Mariners asking for enhanced information to be given to ports in Scotland to ensure that Masters are regularly assessing the health states of their vessels while in the UK waters and reporting any suspect cases at the next port of call.