Day: July 8, 2020

First Minister: Spain stays on quarantine list

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the media briefing in St Andrew’s House this afternoon (Wednesday 8th July):

Good afternoon everyone, welcome to today’s update.

My remarks are going to be a bit longer than normal because there is one issue, the issue of air bridges, I want to update you on today and it’s a bit complex so I want to take a bit of time to go through that.

But firstly, I’ll start with an update on the latest figures.

Since yesterday, an additional 7 cases of covid have been confirmed, which takes the total number now to 18,309.

A total of 767 patients are currently in hospital with either suspected or confirmed COVID-19, which is an increase of 68 overall since yesterday, but includes a decrease of 18 in the number of confirmed cases.

As of last night, 11 people were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, which is an increase of 4 the number that I reported yesterday – but that increase is all in suspected cases.

Since 5 March, a total of 4,106 patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 and required hospital admission, have now been able to leave hospital.

Unfortunately, in the last 24 hours, 1 death has been registered of a person who had been confirmed as having the virus and that takes the total number of deaths under that measurement to 2,490.

In addition, National Records of Scotland has just published its more detailed weekly report.

This includes deaths of people who have been confirmed by a test as having the virus and also cases where the virus was entered on a death certificate as a suspected or contributory cause of death – even if its presence had not confirmed by a test.

The latest NRS report covers the period to Sunday 5 July. At that point, if you recall according to our daily figures, 2,488 deaths of people who had tested positive for the virus had been registered.

However, today’s report shows that, by Sunday, the total number of registered deaths with either a confirmed or a presumed link to the virus was 4,173. 17 were registered in the seven days up to Sunday, which is a decrease of 18 from the previous week.

This is tenth consecutive week in which the number of deaths from the virus has fallen.

Deaths in care homes made up less than a quarter of all Covid deaths last week – the number of COVID-19 deaths in care homes reduced from 16 to 4.

Finally, the total number of deaths recorded last week – from all causes – was 40 below the five year average for the same time of year. This is the second week in a row that the total number of deaths has been below that 5 year average.

National Records of Scotland has also published today a report on the breakdown of COVID-19 deaths by ethnic group.

It concludes that deaths among people from the South Asian ethnic group, were almost twice as likely to involve COVID-19, as deaths in the White ethnic group. That conclusion is reached after accounting for age, sex, deprivation and whether people live in urban or rural areas.

We do not have sufficient evidence to say that deaths among people in any other ethnic groups were more likely to involve covid.

You may remember that Public Health Scotland looked at this issue back in May, and at that stage found no evidence of a correlation between ethnicity and death rates.

However today’s NRS report has been able to cross reference death registrations with the 2011 census data, so it is more comprehensive – at least in relation to registered deaths – than the earlier study.

This new data will be considered by our COVID-19 and Ethnicity Expert Reference Group which meets tomorrow. Their views will help us to consider what further action is required.

Overall, these weekly statistics confirm what our daily data has also been telling us – Scotland has made real and sustained progress against this virus.

However the numbers also speak of heartbreak for too many people. We can take comfort in the trend of recent weeks, but every single death is a tragedy. I want to send my condolences to everyone who is grieving the loss of a loved one.

I also want, as I always do, to thank our health and care workers, and indeed all of our key workers who have been so magnificent throughout in this crisis.

Tomorrow I will give an update to Parliament at the slightly earlier time of 12.20. I hope then to confirm that Scotland can move from phase 2 of our route map out of lockdown, to phase 3.

And in a few moments, the Cabinet Secretary is going confirm some changes for those who are Shielding. Changes which will take effect at the end of this week.

As we make changes in wider society – opening up hospitality, allowing more people to meet up outside, travelling outside our local communities – it is I think really important we remember that there are thousands of people in the shielded category, for whom life remains severely restricted right now.

They cannot go for a drink or a coffee – and even more significantly, in some cases, they have had to physically distance from their own households for the last three months. We must not underestimate how difficult this period has been and indeed continues to be for them.

That perhaps gives some context and perhaps a sense of perspective to the main issue I need to address today, which relates to international travel – and particularly the requirement to enter 14 day self-isolation, or quarantine, when you return to or enter Scotland from countries outside the UK and Ireland, because Ireland has never been included in the UK quarantine arrangements.

You will recall from some weeks back that as a result of the genome sequencing of the virus – something we have discussed here before – we now know that many of the strands of COVID-19 introduced into Scotland, came here through overseas travel. In particular, they arrived as a result of travel to and from mainland Europe in late February and early March.

Since then of course over 4,173 people have died, and though those numbers are increasing far more slowly now, and the numbers of cases each day is very small, we should not forget the potential of this virus to do serious harm – both in lives lost and also, as is increasingly feared, in longer term damage to health.

As we look ahead now, we must be aware, that one of our biggest risk factors as we suppress the virus here, is the importation of new cases to Scotland, that then of course have the potential to spread.

That risk is illustrated very well I think by the situation in Australia right now. Melbourne, it’s second biggest city, has gone from virtual elimination of the virus to a new six week lockdown in a very short space of time – and while there are still investigations of that underway, there are indications that this may well have been from cases coming into the country.

It is also the case that one of the criteria that we must satisfy ourselves of, for our move to phase 3 – one of the criteria set out by the World Health Organisation – is the need to “Manage the risk of exporting and importing cases from communities with high risks of transmission.”

This is an issue which becomes more and more important, as fewer and fewer people within Scotland have the virus.

On the other side of that, I know, and am acutely aware of how important international travel is for our tourist sector and for the aviation industry.

So these decisions are really difficult – not least for a government like ours that celebrates free movement and cherishes Scotland’s reputation as open and welcoming – and we do not take these decisions lightly.

On Friday, the UK Government published a list of 59 countries and territories for which it would no longer for England, impose quarantine restrictions. The information underpinning that list, separated countries into a green or low risk category and an amber or medium risk category.

In the green category are 39 countries or territories, which either have very low rates of Covid or very small populations, and therefore considered low risk.

And in the amber group are 20 countries where the risks are considered to be greater and so classed as medium.

Those green and amber ratings are decided on the basis of two factors – first, the prevalence of the virus in each country, and second an assessment of the current situation – based on things like numbers of new cases and local outbreaks – conducted initially by Public Health England.

Thanks to the efforts that all of us have made, as we know, Scotland now has a low and declining prevalence of Covid. I’m going to refer to this issue of prevalence a little bit, so it’s worth stressing that these estimates change regularly, and that they always have ranges attached to them. So when I quote figures, I am always quoting the middle number in our estimated range.

Our current central estimate for Scotland right now is that for every 100,000 people in the population, 28 people have Covid. That’s a prevalence of 0.028%.

We are not yet at the stage where we can say that we have virtually eliminated the virus within the community, but that prize is clearly attainable, and brings with it the prospect of a much brighter future and more sustainable recovery, including in particular, the return of full time education in August.

Scotland’s position is a bit different from that of the UK as a whole. Across the UK, it is estimated that around 180 people in every 100,000 currently have Covid. That’s higher than the 28 which is our central estimate for Scotland. And this is relevant to the decisions we take on the relaxation of quarantine.

Amongst those countries that the UK Government has rated as amber, quite a few – including for example Denmark, Greece and the Netherlands – have a prevalence range which is lower than Scotland’s.

However there are others, such as Spain in particular, that have a significantly higher prevalence. As reported by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, the prevalence of the virus in Spain is around 330 people in every 100,000 have Covid.

That means the rate reported for Spain, while less than twice the rate for the UK as a whole, is more than 10 times the estimated rate for Scotland.

And this variation in the amber countries, feeds into the decision we are making today.

Alongside prevalence, there is also an assessment of risk. The four CMOs agreed last week to do further work to improve the methodology behind the risk assessments for each country, ensuring that a wider range of factors can be considered and that we can effectively assess whether outbreaks in different countries are being effectively contained.

Once that work has been completed – which I hope is within days – we hope to will be able to make more targeted assessments in future, taking greater account of how different countries are managing to control the virus.

The decision we are making today, however, makes some distinction between countries given green and amber status by the UK Government.

Let me set out that decision.

I can confirm that from 10th of July onwards, if you are travelling to Scotland from any of the 39 places the UK Government has rated as green, we will not require you to self-isolate upon arrival in Scotland. A full list of those countries will be published on our website – however they include Germany, Austria, Norway and Malta.

Australia is also on that list, so let me mention that now. Despite the recent outbreak in Melbourne which I talked about, it is still assessed to be a low risk country. Because, as I mentioned – they have acted quickly to impose a strict localised lockdown so people in Melbourne can’t travel

We will also lift quarantine for the countries on the amber list that have a prevalence below or not significantly higher than Scotland. That list includes France, Greece, the Netherlands, Italy, and Poland.

However unfortunately, and I do mean that, we cannot in good conscience at this stage lift restrictions on people arriving from Spain because of the significantly higher prevalence.

We also have concerns about Serbia – where a recent outbreak has led neighbouring states to close their borders with that country. The impact of that outbreak will not be seen in the data for a couple of weeks.

So the decision the Cabinet reached this morning is that the quarantine requirements cannot be immediately lifted for Spain and Serbia.

Now, let me be clear: I hope that we will be able to add Spain – and possibly Serbia – to the exemption list, either in full or perhaps in part at the next review point which is on the 20th July.

To that end, we will be liaising closely in the coming week with the relevant authorities as well as with airports and airlines, to gather more information on control of outbreaks and prevalence, and what other mitigations such as testing we could possibly put in place as an alternative.

Now, this has been a very difficult decision but, but as I hope I have demonstrated today, and I know I have taken quite a bit of time to do, it is evidence driven – and motivated only by a determination to protect Scotland as far as possible from a resurgence of this virus in the weeks ahead.

Let me make three further quick points about this.

Firstly, all countries are keeping these issues under review, so depending on developments with the virus, they are subject to change including the reimposition of quarantine – including at short notice – so you should always be aware of that if you are planning to travel.

Secondly, for the future, we are also looking closely at whether there are alternative measures that could replace or reduce the amount of time an individual is required to quarantine and will seek to discuss these with airports and others over the next few days.

And the third point I wish to stress, because there is a misconception about this, you cannot get round the requirement to quarantine in Scotland by flying to or from an airport in England.

Public Health Scotland will have access to contact details for people staying in Scotland, regardless of whether an individual arrives in Glasgow, Manchester or London and it will carry out sample checks as you will have heard started yesterday.

This decision – which has not been easy for the Government to reach – is also not an easy one to hear for many in the travel, tourism and aviation sectors. And I know how many people from Scotland enjoy travelling to Spain and how much we love welcoming Spanish tourists.

My hope is that these restrictions can be relaxed soon – and possibly very soon. But at present, this is the best balance we can arrive at between enabling greater freedom of movement and protecting public health which is so important given the risks we face.

I’m aware that this has been quite a detailed statement. As I say, an up to date list of countries and territories from which you can, as of Friday travel to Scotland without quarantine will be will be published on the Scottish Government’s website.

Let me stress though that just because you don’t have to quarantine when you come to Scotland from these countries, it doesn’t mean you don’t need to comply with all the other rules and guidance in place here, you do.

Now I’ll hand over to the Cabinet Secretary in a moment to talk about shielding but before I do , let me emphasis exactly the advice that we are asking everybody to follow – the Facts advice –
· Face coverings in shops and public transport.
· Avoid crowded places.
· Clean your hands and hard surfaces regularly.
· Two metre distancing. 
· and Self isolate, and book a test, if you have any of the symptoms of covid.

If we all stick to these five measures, whether we live here or if we’re visiting Scotland, if we all stick to these five measures, we minimise the risk of the virus spreading again.

Thank you for listening and for bearing with me through what I know was not just a lengthy, but quite a complex in places, update but I do believe it is important to share as far as possible, not just the decisions we are reaching but the evidence and the process of decisions that underpins them.

Study invites people to share their funeral expenses

The latest phase of a thought-provoking study into the role of the funeral in the grieving process is now underway and anyone who has been involved in organising a funeral is invited to participate.

The study, known as ‘Funeral Experts by Experience’, is led by Dr Julie Rugg from the University of York and Dr Sarah Jones from Full Circle Funerals, an independent funeral director in Yorkshire.

The research is overseen by an expert panel including the National Society of Allied Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF), The Good Funeral Guide and the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM).

The research is open to people from all ethnic, cultural and religious or non-religious backgrounds who lost a loved one before the Covid-19 pandemic. This second phase of the study aims to reveal, analyse and process people’s ideas, concerns and expectations about how someone is physically cared for after they have died and the personal care given to the body.

Last year the organisations completed the first phase of the research which has since been presented at several funeral industry conferences and events. The study identified all the factors that bereaved people consistently said were important to them when arranging or attending a funeral.

Dr Julie Rugg said: “During our initial research, lots of the participants shared their opinions about how people are physically looked after once the funeral director has been called, as well as the level of contact with the body.

“This became a focal point and raised further important questions that we plan to explore further. We are now asking volunteers to share their experiences, views and possible recommendations about how funeral directors care for people who have died. In addition, we would like to invite funeral directors to contribute with their thoughts regarding care for people who have died, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Dr Sarah Jones added: “We have created an online questionnaire for funeral directors to complete and are asking anyone who has been involved in a funeral to share their experience and views with us, either during a short telephone interview or by videocall.

“We believe that understanding what bereaved people want, means the funeral industry as a whole can continue to improve the quality of funeral care services and this robust research and insight will help to set standards, training and future regulations.”

More information about the research, as well as the previous published report, is available at https://fullcirclefunerals.co.uk/learning-together/research/ and funeral directors wanting to participate will find the link to the survey there.

Full Circle Funerals, which prides itself on supporting people to create funerals that truly reflect the person who has died, operates four Yorkshire sites and has previously been named ‘Best Modern Funeral Director in the UK’ at The Good Funeral Awards.

For further information visit www.fullcirclefunerals.co.uk

Chancellor: A Plan for Jobs

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s Summer Statement speech to the House of Commons this afternoon:

Mr Speaker,

I stood here in March saying I knew people were worried. And I know they’re worried still.

We have taken decisive action to protect our economy.

But people are anxious about losing their job, about unemployment rising. We’re not just going to accept this.

People need to know we will do all we can to give everyone the opportunity of good and secure work.

People need to know that although hardship lies ahead, no one will be left without hope.

So, today, we act, with a Plan for Jobs.

Our plan has a clear goal: to protect, support and create jobs.

It will give businesses the confidence to retain and hire.

To create jobs in every part of our country.

To give young people a better start.

To give people everywhere the opportunity of a fresh start.

Where problems emerge, we will confront them.

Where support is justified, we will provide it.

Where challenges arise, we will overcome them.

We entered this crisis unencumbered by dogma and we continue in this spirit, driven always by the simple desire to do what is right.

Mr Speaker,

Before I turn to our Plan for Jobs, let me first outline the nature of the challenge.

Our economic response to coronavirus is moving through three phases.

In the first phase, beginning in March, the government announced social distancing measures and ordered businesses to close, halting the spread of the disease.

We put in place one of the largest and most comprehensive economic responses in the world.

Our £160 billion plan protects people’s jobs, incomes and businesses:

  • we supported more than 11 million people and jobs through the job retention and self-employment schemes, alongside billions of pounds for the most vulnerable
  • we supported over a million businesses to protect jobs, through tax cuts, tax deferrals, direct cash grants, and over a million government-backed loans
  • and we supported public services, with new funding for the NHS, schools, public transport, and local authorities

In total, we have now provided £49 billion to support public services since this crisis began.

Analysis I’m publishing today shows our interventions significantly protected people’s incomes, with the least well off in society supported the most.

And this crisis has highlighted the special bond which holds our country together.

Millions of people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been protected by the UK government’s economic interventions – and they will be supported by today’s Plan for Jobs.

No nationalist can ignore the undeniable truth: this help has only been possible because we are a United Kingdom.

Mr Speaker,

Four months on, as we carefully reopen our economy, we are entering the second phase of our economic response.

Despite the extraordinary support we’ve already provided, we face profound economic challenges:

  • world economic activity has slowed, with the IMF expecting the deepest global recession since records began
  • household consumption – the biggest component of our economy – has fallen steeply
  • businesses have stopped trading and stopped hiring
  • taken together, in just two months our economy contracted by 25% – the same amount it grew in the previous eighteen years.

And the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and Bank of England are both projecting significant job losses – the most urgent challenge we now face.

I want every person in this House and in the country to know that I will never accept unemployment as an unavoidable outcome.

We haven’t done everything we have so far just to step back now and say, ‘job done’. In truth, the job has only just begun.

Mr Speaker,

If the first phase of our economic response was about protection…

…and the second phase – the phase we are addressing today – is about jobs…

…there will come a third phase, where we will rebuild.

My Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister has set out our vision to level up, unite the country, spread opportunity, and repair and heal the wounds exposed through this crisis.

I can tell the House we will produce a Budget and Spending Review in the autumn.

And, we will deal too, with the challenges facing our public finances.

Over the medium-term, we must, and we will, put our public finances back on a sustainable footing.

In other words, our Plan for Jobs will not be the last action – it is merely the next – in our fight to recover and rebuild after coronavirus.

Mr Speaker, Let me now turn to the detail of our plan for jobs.

Central to our economic response has been the Jobs Retention Scheme.

Furlough has been a lifeline for millions, supporting people and businesses to protect jobs. But it cannot and should not go on forever.

I know that when furlough ends it will be a difficult moment. I’m also sure that if I say the scheme must end in October, critics will say it should end in November. If I say it should end in November, critics will just say December.

But the truth is: calling for endless extensions to the furlough is just as irresponsible as it would have been, back in June, to end the scheme overnight.

We have to be honest.

Leaving the furlough scheme open forever gives people false hope that it will always be possible to return to the jobs they had before.

And the longer people are on furlough, the more likely it is their skills could fade, and they will find it harder to get new opportunities.

It is in no-one’s long term interests for the scheme to continue forever … least of all those trapped in a job that can only exist because of a government subsidy.

So the furlough will wind down, flexibly and gradually, supporting businesses and people through to October.

But while we can’t protect every job, one of the most important things we can do to prevent unemployment is to get as many people as possible from furlough back to their jobs.

So, today, we’re introducing a new policy to reward and incentivise employers who successfully bring furloughed staff back – a new Jobs Retention Bonus.

If you’re an employer and you bring someone back who was furloughed – and you continuously employ them through to January – we will pay you a £1,000 bonus per employee.

It is vital people aren’t just returning for the sake of it – they need to be doing decent work.

So for businesses to get this bonus, the employee must be paid at least £520 on average, in each month from November to January the equivalent of the lower earnings limit in National Insurance.

The House should understand the significance of this policy. We will pay the bonus for all furloughed employees.

So if employers bring back all nine million people who have been furloughed, this would be a £9 billion policy to retain people in work.

Our message to business is clear: if you stand by your workers, we will stand by you.

Mr Speaker, The furlough was the right policy to support people through the first phase of this crisis.

But now, in this new phase, we need to evolve our approach.

Today, I want to set out for the House a new three-point plan for jobs.

We need to:

  • first – support people to find jobs
  • second – create jobs
  • and third – protect jobs

Mr Speaker,

Let me start with supporting jobs, and in particular the help we want to provide for those who will be hardest hit by this crisis: younger people.

Over 700,000 people are leaving education this year.

Many more are just starting out in their careers.

Coronavirus has hit them hard – under 25s are two and a half times as likely to work in a sector that has been closed.

We cannot lose this generation, so today, I am announcing the Kickstart Scheme:

A new programme to give hundreds of thousands of young people, in every region and nation of Britain, the best possible chance of getting on and getting a job.

The Kickstart Scheme will directly pay employers to create new jobs for any 16 to 24-year-old at risk of long-term unemployment.

These will be new jobs – with the funding conditional on the firm proving these jobs are additional.

These will be decent jobs – with a minimum of 25 hours per week paid at least the National Minimum Wage.

And they will be good quality jobs – with employers providing Kickstarters with training and support to find a permanent job.

If employers meet these conditions, we will pay young people’s wages for six months, plus an amount to cover overheads.

That means, for a 24-year-old, the grant will be around £6,500.

Employers can apply to be part of the scheme from next month, with the first Kickstarters in their new jobs this autumn.

And I urge every employer, big or small, national or local, to hire as many Kickstarters as possible.

Today, I’m making available an initial £2 billion; enough to fund hundreds of thousands of jobs.

And I commit today: there will be no cap on the number of places available.

We can do more for young people:

  • traineeships are a proven scheme to get young people ready for work. We know they work, so for the first time ever we will pay employers £1,000 to take on new trainees, with triple the number of places
  • to support 18-19-year olds leaving school or college to find work in high-demand sectors like engineering, construction and social care, we’ll provide £100 million to create more places on Level 2 and 3 courses
  • and the evidence says careers advice works, so we will fund it, with enough new careers advisers to support over a quarter of a million more people.

We will also expand our universal skills offer:

Sector-Based Work Academies provide training, work placements, and a guaranteed job interview in high-demand sectors.

The evidence shows they work, so we will expand them – tripling the number of places.

And we know apprenticeships work, too – 91% of apprentices stay in work or do further training afterwards.

So for the next six months, we’re going to pay employers to create new apprenticeships.

We will pay businesses to hire young apprentices, with a new payment of £2,000 per apprentice.

And we will introduce a brand-new bonus for businesses to hire apprentices aged 25 and over, with a payment of £1,500.

And let me thank my Right Honourable Friend the Education Secretary for his support and commitment in developing these measures.

Mr Speaker,

We know the longer someone is out of work, the harder it is to return. Millions of people are moving onto Universal Credit – they need urgent support to get back to work.

So, we are:

  • doubling the number of Work Coaches in Job Centres
  • increasing the Flexible Support Fund
  • extending the Rapid Response Service
  • expanding the Work and Health Programme
  • and developing a new scheme to support the long-term unemployed

The academic and economic evidence tells us these are among the most effective things we can do.

So I’m investing an extra billion pounds in DWP, to support millions of people back to work.

And I’m grateful for everything my Right Honourable Friend the Work and Pensions secretary, and her incredible team, have done.

£1 billion of support for the unemployed; more money for skills, traineeships, and apprenticeships; and a new, good quality job for hundreds of thousands of new Kickstarters – the first part of our plan for jobs.

Mr Speaker,

The second part of our plan is to support job creation.

That begins with historic investment in infrastructure – creating jobs in every region and nation of the UK.

At Budget, I announced £88 billion of capital funding this year; and last week the Prime Minister announced our plans to accelerate £5 billion of additional investment projects.

We are doubling down on our ambition to level up…

…with better roads, better schools, better hospitals, better high streets, creating jobs in all four corners of our country.

Mr Speaker, As well as investing in infrastructure, we want to create green jobs.

This is going to be a green recovery with concern for our environment at its heart.

As part of that, I’m announcing today a new, £2 billion Green Homes Grant.

From September, homeowners and landlords will be able to apply for vouchers to make their homes more energy efficient and create local jobs.

The grants will cover at least two thirds of the cost, up to £5,000 per household.

And for low income households, we’ll go even further with vouchers covering the full cost – up to £10,000.

On top of the £2 billion voucher scheme, I am releasing £1 billion of funding to improve the energy efficiency of public sector buildings…

…alongside a £50 million fund to pilot the right approach to decarbonise social housing.

Taken together, we expect these measures to:

  • make over 650,000 homes more energy efficient
  • save households up to £300 a year on their bills
  • cut carbon by more than half a mega tonne per year, equivalent to taking 270,000 cars off the road
  • and, most importantly right now, support around 140,000 green jobs

A £3 billion green jobs plan to save money; cut carbon; and create jobs.

Mr Speaker, One of the most important sectors for job creation is housing.

The construction sector adds £39 billion a year to the UK economy;

House building alone supports nearly three quarter of a million jobs;

With millions more relying on the availability of housing to find work.

But property transactions fell by 50% in May.

House prices have fallen for the first time in eight years.

And uncertainty abounds in the market – a market we need to be thriving.

We need people feeling confident – confident to buy, sell, renovate, move and improve.

That will drive growth. That will create jobs.

So to catalyse the housing market and boost confidence, I have decided today to cut stamp duty.

Right now, there is no stamp duty on transactions below £125,000.

Today, I am increasing the threshold to half a million pounds.

This will be a temporary cut running until 31st March next year.

And, as is always the case, these changes to stamp duty will take effect immediately.

The average stamp duty bill will fall by £4,500.

And nearly nine out of ten people buying a main home this year, will pay no stamp duty at all.

Stamp duty cuts; A £5,000 Green Homes Grant; And tens of billions of pounds of new capital projects.

We are creating jobs, the second part of our Plan for Jobs.

Mr Speaker, The final part of our plan will protect jobs that already exist by helping some of our highest-employing but hardest-hit sectors: hospitality and tourism.

Our economy relies on consumption, especially social consumption:

The pubs, cafes, restaurants, hotels and B&Bs that bring life to our villages, towns and cities.

Taken together these sectors employ over 2 million people disproportionately younger, women and people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

And many rural and coastal communities rely on these industries.

80% of hospitality firms temporarily stopped trading in April and 1.4 million workers have been furloughed, the highest proportions of any sector.

So the best jobs programme we can do is to restart these sectors and get our pubs, restaurants, cafés and B&Bs bustling again.

I know people are cautious about going out.

But we wouldn’t have lifted the restrictions if we didn’t think we could do so safely.

And I’ve seen in the last few weeks how hard businesses are working to make their premises safe.

And if we follow the guidance, and respect what they ask us to do, we can all enjoy summer safely.

In turn, we need to give these businesses the confidence to know that if they open up, invest in making their premises safe, and protect jobs, demand will be there, and be there quickly.

So today, I’m announcing two new measures to get these sectors moving and protect jobs.

First, at the moment, VAT on hospitality and tourism is charged at 20%.

So I’ve decided, for the next six months, to cut VAT on food, accommodation and attractions.

Eat-in or hot takeaway food from restaurants, cafes and pubs;

Accommodation in hotels, B&Bs, campsites and caravan sites;

Attractions like cinemas, theme parks and zoos;

All these and more will see VAT reduced from next Wednesday until January 12th, from 20% to 5%.

This is a £4 billion catalyst for the hospitality and tourism sectors, benefiting over 150,000 businesses, and consumers everywhere – all helping to protect 2.4 million jobs.

But, Mr Speaker, we will go further. The final measure I’m announcing today has never been tried in the UK before. This moment is unique. We need to be creative.

So, to get customers back into restaurants, cafes and pubs, and protect the 1.8 million people who work in them, I can announce today that, for the month of August, we will give everyone in the country an Eat Out to Help Out discount.

Meals eaten at any participating business, Monday to Wednesday, will be 50% off, up to a maximum discount of £10 per head for everyone, including children.

Businesses will need to register, and can do so through a simple website, open next Monday.

Each week in August, businesses can then claim the money back, with the funds in their bank account within 5 working days.

1.8 million people work in this industry. They need our support and with this measure we can all eat out to help out.

A VAT cut to 5%;

And a first-of-its-kind government-backed discount for all;

That’s the third part of our Plan for Jobs.  

So, Mr Speaker,

A £1,000 Jobs Retention Bonus.

New, high quality jobs for hundreds of thousands of young Kickstarters.

£1bn to double the number of work coaches and support the unemployed.

More apprenticeships; more traineeships; more skills funding.

Billions of pounds for new, job creation projects around the country.

A £3 billion plan to support 140,000 green jobs.

And in this vital period, as we get going again:

VAT cut.

Stamp duty cut.

Meals out cut.

Mr Speaker, all part of our Plan for Jobs worth up to £30 billion.

Mr Speaker,

Governments, much less people, rarely get to choose the moments that define them. What choice there is comes in how we respond.

For me, this has never just been a question of economics, but of values:

I believe in the nobility of work.

I believe in the inspiring power of opportunity.

I believe in the British people’s fortitude and endurance.

And it is that value, endurance, more than any other, we need to embody now.

A patience to live with the uncertainty of the moment…

…to find that new balance between safety and normality.

We will not be defined by this crisis, but by our response to it.

It is an unambiguous choice to make this moment meaningful for our country in a way that transcends the frustration and loss of recent months.

It is a plan to turn our national recovery into millions of stories of personal renewal.

Mr Speaker, it is our Plan for Jobs and I commend it to this House.

Anneliese Dodds MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to the Government’s ‘Plan for Jobs’, said: “Labour has repeatedly called on the government to match the ambitions of Labour’s Future Jobs Fund, to rise to the youth unemployment challenge.

“To the extent that the ‘Kickstart’ programme is based on the Future Jobs Fund model, it should help many young people to access work.

“However, the Government are yet to rise to the scale of the unemployment crisis. The urgent priority right now is to prevent additional unnecessary unemployment in the first place by abandoning the Government’s ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to the removal of the Job Retention and Self-Employed schemes.

“In addition, older people who become unemployed, and those living in particularly hard-hit areas, will also need tailored support.

“Government also urgently needs to get test, track and isolate right, as ultimately the biggest drag on our economy has been the slow public health response, which threatens additional localised lockdowns and which has reduced consumer confidence.”

Responding the UK Chancellor’s Summer Statement today, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said: “We called for an £80bn stimulus package to build a strong, green and inclusive economic recovery and while there are elements in this announcement to be welcomed, in particular the measures on VAT for tourism and hospitality, overall this package is a huge opportunity missed. It falls well short of delivering what is needed to boost the economy and protect jobs.

“There is no new capital spend, no extension to the furlough scheme for hard-hit sectors and no further support for households in financial difficulty. A half price meal out does not help those struggling to put food on the table.

“Many of the initiatives are short-lived and do not provide long term certainty for business or households. Instead they will simply push the problems back to the end of the year when we will also have to deal with the end of the transition period with the EU.

“Despite announcing new funding measures worth up to £30bn today, most of it bypasses devolution and does not provide the Scottish Government with the funding we need to enable us to tailor an economic response that meets Scotland’s needs.

“Like all governments, we are facing huge spending pressures but we do not have the tools that others have to meet them. Along with the Governments of Wales and Northern Ireland, we set out a reasonable, proportionate set of new financial powers that would enable the Scottish Government to respond effectively. Regrettably, the UK Government has turned a deaf ear to those needs.”

Also responding to measures announced today by the chancellor in his summer statement, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Mass unemployment is now the biggest threat facing the UK, as shown by the thousands of job losses at British Airways, Airbus and elsewhere.

“The government must do far more to stem the rising tide of redundancies. We can’t afford to lose any more good skilled jobs.

“The chancellor should have announced targeted support for the hardest-hit sectors like manufacturing and aviation. Struggling businesses will need more than a one-off job retention bonus to survive and save jobs in the long-term.

“Unions campaigned for a job guarantee scheme. Kickstart is a good first step. But if the government allows vital industries to go the wall, unemployment will surge and the recession will last far longer. 

“The more people we have in decent work, the faster we can work our way out of recession. We must create jobs through more new public investment in new homes, childcare, faster broadband, better transport and green tech.

“The government should have announced extra investment in jobs across all public services – starting with filling the 200,000 vacancies in the NHS and social care. And if the chancellor wants people to have the confidence to eat out, he should have announced a pay rise for hard-pressed key workers rather than dining out discounts for the well-off.”

On sick pay, Frances added: “The government missed an opportunity to strengthen their faltering Test and Trace programme.

“Statutory sick pay is too low for anyone to live on. It’s not viable to ask people to self-isolate if they will be pushed into financial hardship.

“We had hoped ministers would listen, raise the rate and change the rules so low-paid people could afford to do the right thing and comply with self-isolation. Once again, this government fails to understand the real lives of low-paid workers. It is clear that poverty wages and insecure contracts are a public health hazard.”

Remember to apply for school clothing grant

A reminder that, even if you received a school clothing grant last year, you MUST APPLY again if you want one this year – see the city council’s guidance (below):

About school grants

Low income families can get free school meals, milk and a school clothing grant to help towards buying school clothes for their children.

All children in primary 1 to 3 receive free school meals, but not free milk or a clothing grant.

Find out if you match the conditions to claim free school meals on the Scottish Government website.

If you match these conditions you will also qualify for free milk and a clothing grant.

If you contact us please give your full name, address and names of all children. It would also be helpful if you can give us your Housing Benefit or Council Tax reference number.

Download our privacy notice – PDF

Award

Each award is valid for one school year. The award provides

  • each child with one school meal and milk each day they attend school
  • a clothing grant payment of £100 for each child.

We pay one clothing grant per year, per child, into your bank account. We pay clothing grants between July until 31 March the following year. Most clothing grants are paid throughout July and August before the new school year begins.

Coronavirus payments

We will continue to make payments towards the cost of lunches every two weeks over the summer for eligible families.

Payments are £22.50 per child.

You are eligible for these payments only if you received free school meals, milk and a clothing grant for your child.

If you have a child in P1 to P3, you do not automatically receive the payment. You must match the conditions to claim free school meals.

Renewing your award

If you get housing benefit and/or council tax reduction, in most cases we can use information we already hold about your benefits to give you an automatic award each year. Data from our school records is matched against our benefits records to identify families who are eligible.

In some cases, data on the school records does not match the information held on our benefits records. When this happens, we cannot automatically award.

If you qualify for an automatic award, we’ll send you a letter telling you before 31 July. We will ask you to confirm your bank account details using the form below before we pay your clothing grant.

You won’t get an automatic award if

  • you do not currently get housing benefit or a reduction on your council tax
  • you receive tax credits or support under Immigration and Asylum Act
  • you live outside the City of Edinburgh Council area.

Apply or confirm your payment details

If you do get an automatic award, use this form to confirm your bank account details.

If you don’t get an automatic award, use this form to apply for school grants.

Apply for school grants or confirm payment details

Join the national conversation about Fair Work

The First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG) is calling on residents from Edinburgh to get behind the #GenerationEqual movement and share their views and experiences of gender inequality in the workplace. 

Inequality in the working environment continues to be an issue. Women and girls still experience challenges with gender barriers and discrimination leaving fewer opportunities for career progression, a greater likelihood of them doing lower paid jobs and a gender pay gap. 

Areas the Advisory Council wish to examine include occupational segregation, balancing the inflexibility of work with caring responsibilities, and the undervaluation of women’s work.

The NACWG was established in 2017 to play a leading role in raising the issue of gender inequality on Scotland’s agenda by drawing attention to a wide range of issues faced by women and girls.

Focusing on a new Spotlight every two months, the NACWG aims to bring people together to share ideas and opinions on different gender equality issues. The Advisory Council is putting a Spotlight on fair work until the end of August, to explore the challenges faced by women in the workplace.

Louise Macdonald OBE, Co-Chair of the NACWG, said: “Longstanding gender barriers in the workplace means there remain fewer opportunities for career progression for women and girls and more women are in lower paid roles.

“Others face the “motherhood penalty” or have to take on additional caring responsibilities, and are  forced into part-time work as they struggle to secure a work-life balance without the support from employers.

“It is important for the Advisory Council to hear from a diverse range of people to learn from different lived experiences. We want to hear from people in Edinburgh, whether they themselves or someone they know is affected by these issues. Every opinion we gather contributes to shaping our third report of recommendations to the First Minister.”

To have your say in the national conversation, people are encouraged to form a virtual ‘Wee Circle’ with family, friends or colleagues to discuss the issues surrounding fair work for women and girls (socially distanced, of course! – Ed.)

Feedback from these Wee Circle discussions, as well as individual feedback, can be submitted online at onescotland.org/NACWG and people can share their thoughts on social media using the hashtag #GenerationEqual.

Letters: Love Reaches Everywhere

Gerard Butler in Liberia as part of a visit to Mary’s Meals projects.

Dear Editor

A beautiful new film about the charity Mary’s Meals, featuring Gerard Butler, has just been released. Love Reaches Everywhere sees the Hollywood actor visiting schools in Liberia and Haiti in the 30-minute feature.

Mary’s Meals normally serves nutritious meals in schools, attracting impoverished children to the classroom where they can gain an education that will one day be their ladder out of poverty. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have developed safe methods of distribution which allow almost all the children who normally enjoy our meals to eat at home instead.

Love Reaches Everywhere shows Gerard, who has starred in films such as 300 and P.S. I Love You, immersing himself in community life – teaching a maths lesson, planting crops in a school garden, carrying water from a local well, and even sharing acting tips with some children.

It is available to watch for free now at marysmeals.org.uk/lovereacheseverywhere. I hope it will be a tonic for your readers at this uncertain time, showing the difference donations made here in the UK can make to little ones living in some of the world’s poorest countries – and proving that love really does reach everywhere.

Daniel Adams 

UK Executive Director of Mary’s Meals 

Picture: Chris Watt

Shop workers ‘nervous about the introduction of mandatory face coverings’

Retail trade union Usdaw has received numerous calls from concerned members after the Scottish Government announced that face coverings will be mandatory in shops from this Friday.

Usdaw officials met with government ministers on Monday to urge retention of the two-metre rule and seek assurances that shop workers will not have to enforce the wearing of face coverings. Usdaw is now concerned that Government guidance has not yet been published.

Stewart Forrest, Usdaw’s Scottish Divisional Officer, says: “Our big concern is who enforces mandatory face coverings and we made that clear to the Scottish Government on Monday.

“Shop workers are worried that they will be expected to turn people away from the store because they do not have a face covering or it is not being worn properly. Incidents of abuse against shop workers have already doubled through the coronavirus emergency and this would be yet another flashpoint.

“Government guidance has not yet been published and that is a concern when we are so close to the new face coverings rule coming into force on Friday. We need assurances that the existing two-metre rule will be observed and enforced. In our experience retailers have taken the two-metre rule seriously and are complying, we see no reason why it should be relaxed.

“Safety in stores needs customer co-operation and we urge the public to respect staff and observe social distancing. At no time should abuse be a part of the job. Shopworkers deserve respect.”

TUC: Chancellor has a chance to prevent ‘devastation of mass employment’

As the Chancellor stands up to make his ‘summer statement’ today, families across the country will be facing up to the possibility of unemployment (writes the TUC’s KATE BELL): 

Yesterday, Pret-a-Manger announced it would be closing 30 shops, with the loss of 1,000 jobs. Last week, to take just one example, Airbus announced the loss of up to 1,700 jobs in the UK. British Airways are ploughing ahead with cuts which could lead to 12,000 job cuts. And the list is getting longer by the day. 

The Chancellor has a chance to prevent the devastation of mass unemployment leading to the situation this country saw in the 1980s – young people left on the scrap heap, lives ruined, and communities decimated. But he needs to act fast and decisively.

Here’s the TUC’s plan for decent jobs:

1. Introduce a real jobs guarantee – offering paid jobs for young people who face unemployment 

We’ve heard that the Chancellor may invest in apprenticeships, or traineeships – unpaid work placements with some training attached. It’s not clear yet whether these will be voluntary, or how the Chancellor expects people to live while they’re undertaking these. The TUC has always opposed mandatory unpaid work placements. And unpaid work experience is no substitute for a real jobs guarantee.

 We want the government to invest in supporting real jobs, paid at least the Real Living Wage, for young people facing the prospect of long-term unemployment. Government funding should support additional jobs in the public and private sector that support regional growth strategies, and provide real benefit, including helping to decarbonise the economy.  

That jobs guarantee must go alongside a rapid redundancy response service and investment in jobcentres. And we desperately need an increase in social security payments to stop those who lose their jobs spiralling into debt.  

2. Invest across the economy to create jobs 

We know the country needs an infrastructure upgrade to help drive productivity, and urgent action to tackle the climate crisis. And after a decade of austerity, our public services are desperately overstretched.

Fixing these problems now can help create the jobs we need. Research for the TUC shows that an £85bn investment in green infrastructure could help create 1.24 million jobs in the next two years, including 500,000 jobs through building and retrofitting social housing, and almost 60,000 jobs in electrifying transport.

And we should support our public services by investing in jobs. There are over 100,000 vacancies in social care, and 100,000 more in the NHS – even before we deliver a better system. Local government saw 100,000 redundancies in the past decade, jobs that are needed now to deliver vital services and help tackle the pandemic.

3. Work with unions and business on new rescue plans for hard hit sectors 

We’ve seen how the pandemic, and the social distancing measures it requires, has hit some types of business harder than others. Aviation and hospitality have been particularly badly affected. Government needs to come together with unions and businesses to design rescue packages for these sectors – including setting out how those plans can be used to deliver better and greener jobs. 

The Job Retention Scheme has done valuable work throughout the crisis in protecting people’s jobs, and is now supporting many people to work part-time. Government should extend it beyond October for businesses that can show they have a viable future but need more time to get back on their feet.

4. Prioritise progress towards equality 

We know unemployment is bad for everyone. But those who already face discrimination in the labour market often see their prospects held back even further.  BME groups faced higher unemployment in the 2008-09 recession, and still have high unemployment rates.

Research shows that during upturns disabled people are the last to gain employment, and during downturns they are first to be made unemployed. With the childcare sector on the brink of collapse, women’s employment prospects face being put back a generation.

The Chancellor needs to prioritise progress towards equality when he sets out his plans. That means tackling the insecure work that leaves BME workers disproportionately having their hours cut or being let go. It means monitoring the impact of employment programmes on different groups.

And it means the Chancellor needs to protect those who can’t work due to the fact they are shielding or have caring responsibilities from being forced out of work by extending the job retention scheme.

Mass unemployment and a new wave of inequality aren’t inevitable. We can build back better. But the Chancellor needs to be bold and act fast. 

Finance Ministers from the devolved administrations are urging the UK Government to ease the financial restrictions imposed on devolved governments so they can better respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

Ahead of the Chancellor’s Summer Statement, Kate Forbes, Rebecca Evans and Conor Murphy are calling for assurances that will give them the freedom to switch capital funding to day-to-day revenue and put an end to the arbitrary limits on borrowing. They are also looking for more clarity on details around the forthcoming Spending Review.

Kate Forbes, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance (above), said: “The powers we are seeking will enable the Scottish Government to respond to COVID-19 more effectively and reboot our economy. They are relatively limited powers, but would ease some of the immense pressures on our budget and give us more tools to kick-start our recovery.

“At the moment, any extra money spent bolstering services and supporting the economic recovery must be taken from other areas. That creates risks for our essential public services, jobs and businesses. I am therefore calling on the Chancellor to ease these rigid fiscal rules and give us the flexibility we need to properly address the monumental challenges our economy is facing.

“I also want to see greater ambition in the level of investment in our economy. Last week the Scottish Government set out a proposal for an £80 billion UK-wide stimulus package. What is needed at this time of crisis is bold and practical policies that will boost consumption, promote investment and protect jobs.”

Northern Ireland Finance Minister Conor Murphy said: “It is crucial that the devolved administrations are equipped to respond swiftly and effectively to the challenges arising from COVID-19.

“More financial flexibility can help us deal with these challenges and use our budgets to support public services, protect the vulnerable, and deliver an economic recovery.”

Welsh Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said: “Our response to the COVID-19 crisis has been hampered by UK imposed rules that limit our ability to get more resources to the frontline.

“There is no clear rationale for these rules, which undermine good budget management in Wales.

“The Welsh Local Government Association, Wales TUC, FSB Cymru and Institute for Fiscal Studies and, more recently, the Senedd’s Finance Committee, have all made the same calls for change.

“The crisis has made the issue urgent. It’s time for the UK Government to act and provide the flexibility we need to respond and invest in Wales’ recovery.”

First Minister looks to Phase 3

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House yesterday (Tuesday 7th July):

Good afternoon everyone, thank you for joining us. I will start with the usual update on the most recent COVID-19 statistics.

An additional 2 positive cases were confirmed yesterday – that takes the total now in Scotland to 18,302.

A total of 699 patients are currently in hospital with either confirmed or suspected cases of the virus. That is 17 more than yesterday overall, but it includes a reduction of 8 in the number of confirmed cases.

A total of 7 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected covid. That is 1 fewer than yesterday.

Since 5 March, a total of 4,102 patients who had tested positive and been admitted to hospital, have now been discharged from hospital.

However, I am afraid that during the last 24 hours, 1 death was registered of a patient confirmed through a test as having COVID-19. That takes the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, to 2,489.

I, of course, want to send my condolences to that person’s loved ones – and of course to everyone who has lost a loved one to this illness over these past few months.

I also want to thank, as always, our health and care workers. The entire country continues is grateful to you for what you have done and continue to do.

Now, I have three things I want to briefly update you on today before taking questions.

The first relates to the cluster of new Covid cases in Dumfries and Galloway last week. In total, 12 cases were identified as part of that cluster, and 23 contacts have been traced.

There were no new cases relating to this cluster yesterday. The view of the Incident Management Team, is that all chains of infection within Dumfries and Galloway have now been identified and controlled.

As a result, I can confirm that we are today lifting the recommended travel restriction that had applied to people in certain postcodes around Gretna, Dumfries and Annan. Our advice now is that people in those areas – like everyone else in Scotland – can travel more than 5 miles for leisure purposes.

However, like everyone else, they must follow strict advice summarised in the FACTS campaign.

In addition, people can now visit care homes in those areas – in line with the same strict guidelines that apply elsewhere in Scotland.

I want to take the opportunity again today to thank everyone who has been involved – both in Dumfries and Galloway, and also in Cumbria – in controlling this outbreak and in implementing Test and Protect so effectively.

I also want to thank the employers who enabled the rapid testing of their workforces; the contacts who co-operated by self-isolating when asked; and everyone in the affected postcodes, who stuck to the travel restrictions.

Although we all have a part to play in seeking to avoid this, it is the case, as we continue to lift restrictions of lockdown, there will inevitably be more clusters like this one in the weeks and months ahead and so it is reassuring, while we are absolutely not complacent, to see that this one appears to have been controlled so rapidly and so effectively. I am very grateful to everyone who played a part in achieving that outcome.

The second issue I want to raise today relates to the economic statement being made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer tomorrow.

The Scottish Government wrote to the UK Government on Saturday, to highlight again our view that an £80 billion stimulus programme is needed for the UK economy. To put that in context, that would be roughly comparable in ambition to the programme that Germany has recently adopted.

We believe that the UK’s programme should tackle inequalities, support jobs, and have a strong focus on investment in low carbon and digital infrastructure.

We have also recommended an employment guarantee for young people – a policy the Scottish Government is looking at ourselves. And we have called for a temporary cut in VAT to boost consumption – with especially low rates for our hospitality and tourism sectors.

Finally, we have proposed that Scotland should have greater financial powers – for example over borrowing – so that we can play our own part in, and shape our own response to, the economic implications of the pandemic.

It’s worth stressing again that the Scottish Government has on several occasions welcomed policies adopted by the Treasury during this pandemic – for example the job retention scheme, and this week’s support for the culture sector and I want to again say how appreciated, how welcomed and how important these kinds of interventions are.

We hope that we will be able to give a welcome to tomorrow’s statement as well but for that to happen, the policies put forward must meet the scale of the economic challenges that the UK faces and I very much hope that they will do.

The proposals that we have put forward on a constructive basis, are ambitious, practical, and sustainable. They, as I say, have been put forward in a spirit of collaboration and partnership. And we believe they would benefit Scotland and the whole of the UK. I therefore hope that they will be adopted tomorrow.

The need for ambition in economic policy is demonstrated by the final issue I want to briefly update on.

The Scottish Government currently publishes information about the Scottish Welfare Fund on a monthly basis.

The most recent report has been published today, and includes information about crisis grants.

Those are the payments we make available for people on low incomes who are suffering an unexpected and unavoidable financial emergency – for example if they take on caring responsibilities suddenly, and have to pay an unforeseen bill; or if they face a sudden gap in income because they have been made unemployed, and await redundancy or benefit payments.

Today’s report shows that the total value of crisis grant payments in May was more than 40% higher than in May last year. It also shows, however, that the value of payments in May was slightly lower than in March and April of this year, when there was a very large increase at the beginning of lockdown.

These increases demonstrate why the Scottish Government more than doubled the Scottish Welfare Fund in March. We knew then that the necessary public health measures needed to control Covid, would cause financial, emotional and health difficulties in households across the country.

They also provide a further illustration of why we do need to see further economic and fiscal stimulus so we can minimise the economic harm that has been caused by lockdown. And to demonstrate once again, of course why emerging from lockdown for all of us is so essential. We cannot, and this is a statement of the obvious, we cannot go on indefinitely, with severe restrictions on our economy and our way of life.

That is why I hope to be able to confirm on Thursday that we are moving to phase 3, in our route map out of lockdown.

However, and this point is just as important, it is also why we are determined to ensure that our emergence from lockdown, is safe and sustainable. We must absolutely minimise the risk of going back into lockdown later on in the year because we have allowed the virus to run out of control again.

That risk is a very real one – and we must not ever lull ourselves into a sense that we are somehow immune from it. If you doubt that, I would encourage you to take a look at what’s happening in other parts of the world.

In recent days in Australia, Melbourne and its surrounding areas have gone back into lockdown – new cases from community transmission there appear to be higher than in March/April. In Spain, Galicia and Catalonia are reinstating lockdown measures. So is Belgrade in Serbia.

And we are continuing to see a surge in cases in many parts of the United States.

Covid cases in Scotland are currently very low, down to the collective efforts of anyone. But we are still seeing some cases every day. The virus is still out there and it will easily come back if we allow it to.

As we lift the measures that have kept it under control, the risks of transmission increase again. It stands to reason as we start to interact more, we provide more opportunities for the virus to spread.

Outbreaks and clusters – as I said earlier – will happen.

But it is down to all of us to minimise the chances of them happening and to make sure that when they do happen, they don’t spread.

So in everything we do – particularly as you get out and about a bit more – we should be conscious of every possible bridge you might be providing for the virus to spread from one person to another or one household to another, so that we can avoid giving it those opportunities.

That is why we keep on stressing our public health campaign – Facts. It summarises the five key things all of us must remember in everything we do. And if these five things are all you remember over this next period, please make sure that you do remember them and that you apply them in your everyday lives. So just to run through again what they are:

· Face coverings should be worn in enclosed spaces such as shops and public transport. From Friday – as we go into I hope phase 3 – face coverings will be mandatory by law in shops with obvious exceptions, for people with medical conditions or young children. They already are in public transport.

· Avoid crowded places – indoors and outdoors.
· Clean your hands and any hard surfaces that you touch regularly.
· Two metre distancing remains the general rule.
· and self-isolate, and book a test, if you experience any symptoms of covid, don’t wait to do that, do that immediately.

If all of us remember these five basic measures, then we will minimise the opportunities for the virus to spread as we start to get back to normal and in doing that we will keep ourselves safe and will help to protect others and undoubtedly we will save lives.

So please continue to do all of these things as we slowly, carefully but steadily get our economy and our society back to normal. If we follow these measures then we will do that without giving the virus the chance to spread again which would take us back to the start of this.

So my thanks for your cooperation to date and please keep following these important public health rules.