Dua Lipa has more than double the monthly listeners of Beyoncé
New research has revealed that Dua Lipa is currently the most popular female artist on Spotify.
The study, commissioned by shopping experts Coupon Ninja, compared Spotify data for 70 of the world’s biggest female music artists, using the number of monthly listeners to reveal the most popular artists.
Dua Lipa is the most popular female artist on Spotify. The London-born pop singer has 67.9 million monthly listeners – more than twice that of the Queen Bee, Beyoncé herself. Dua Lipa is also the fourth most popular artist in the world on Spotify, surpassed only by Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, and The Weekend.
With more than 56 million monthly listeners, Doja Cat comes in second place, making her the most popular female rapper on Spotify. The Californian ‘Say So’ singer also sits in the seventh position worldwide.
In third place is Taylor Swift, America’s pop and country music star. Swift has more than 55.4 million listeners every month, which also puts her in the eighth worldwide position on Spotify.
Although she started her career on screen as a teen actor, Ariana Grande is now the fourth most popular female artist on Spotify, with more than 54 million fans listening to her music every month, and currently sitting in the tenth worldwide position.
Adele has 53.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, making her the fifth most popular female artist on Spotify. The British Soul artist’s most recent album ‘30’ was the best-selling album of 2021 despite only being released in November.
As well as playing a huge part in the beauty and fashion industries, Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna is also included in the top 10 most popular female music artists on Spotify. RiRi currently sits in the sixth position with more than 48.6 million monthly listeners.
Top 10 Female Artists on Spotify
Rank
Artist
Spotify Monthly Listeners
Worldwide Position
1
Dua Lipa
67,908,917
4
2
Doja Cat
56,010,550
7
3
Taylor Swift
55,456,584
8
4
Ariana Grande
54,019,195
10
5
Adele
53,241,958
12
6
Rihanna
48,603,273
18
7
Billie Eilish
47,792,885
21
8
Katy Perry
44,113,004
26
9
Olivia Rodrigo
42,211,010
28
10
Karol G
40,972,252
31
Billie Eilish is in seventh place with 47.7 million monthly listeners, followed by Katy Perry with 44.1 million and Olivia Rodrigo with 42.2 million, in the eighth and ninth positions. Finally in tenth place is the Colombian reggaeton singer Karol G with more than 40.9 million monthly listeners.
A spokesperson for Coupon Ninja commented on the study: “The music industry is known to be heavily male-dominated, with women making up just 21.6% of music artists and only 12.6% of songwriters*, making the achievements of these artists even more incredible.
“It is great to celebrate their popularity on a streaming service like Spotify, which reflects the taste of more than 365 million users.
“It is fascinating to see the wide variety of artists who make up the top ten most popular on Spotify, with varying ages, genres, and nationalities. Some of the artists are not surprising to see, but the results also gave some unexpected results, with artists such as Beyoncé, Mariah Carey and Cardi B sitting much lower in the list than some might have thought.”
The analysis was conducted by Coupon Ninja, which aims to provide exclusive coupons on major brands for online shoppers.
Sizzling pubs, including The Robin’s Nest in Edinburgh, are teaming up with Make-A-Wish UK to help make dreams come true for seriously ill children across the UK.
As part of the ‘Sizzling Community Change’ campaign, the pub chain has set themselves the goal of collectively raising one million pennies for their charity partner Make-A-Wish UK, and other local community good causes, through a series of fundraising activities.
With over 243 pubs across the UK, Sizzling prides themselves on their sense of community spirit – and this partnership with Make-A-Wish UK will help make a real difference to the lives of children in the local communities that their pubs are at the heart of.
Currently, around 63,000 children across the UK are eligible for a wish because they have a life-limiting or life-threatening condition. And Make-A-Wish UK aims to create hope, happiness and memories for the whole family to cherish by empowering children with the chance to choose a wish that’s unique to them.
The pub chain’s fundraising activity is set to kick off with the introduction of Sizzling’s ‘Light Nights’ menu, which will feature a charity dessert. The special Eton Mess Sundae will help raise money for Make-A-Wish UK, with 25p from each pudding being donated to the charity.
Tom Redwood, Operations Director at Sizzling Pubs, said: “Supporting local charities is part of what gives us our Sizzling spirit, and we hope this new partnership will help make a big difference to the lives of children and their families across the UK.
“We’re so proud to be supporting Make-A-Wish UK as part of our Sizzling Community Change campaign, and our charity dessert is just the beginning when it comes to the exciting fundraising activities we have planned for this year.”
Jason Suckley, Chief Executive at Make-A-Wish UK, said: “The power of a wish can revive a childhood stolen by critical illness. We are very grateful for the generous support of Sizzling Pubs, which will help Make-A-Wish UK be a light in the darkness for more children and their loves ones, granting wishes that leave a profound and lasting impact on all their lives.”
Discover which seriously ill children need help in your area and help make a wish come true using the Make-A-Wish UK ‘Wish Map’:
The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) is working with The Aqua Parks Association UK & Ireland to ensure the safety of the fast-growing industry as the UK looks forward to another bumper staycation summer.
Aqua parks first launched in the UK in 2015. Today, there are approximately 65 parks in the UK. Suitable for adults and children alike, the floating assault courses offer a variety of obstacles ranging from climbing walls and trampolines to water slides and runways.
The sector has boomed during the pandemic with the launch of new parks and established operators expanding their aqua park offering.
RLSS UK is working closely with The Aqua Parks Association UK & Ireland – formerly the Aqua Parks Steering Group – to promote safety standards in the industry to maintain public confidence in UK aqua parks.
The association has developed a set of minimum industry standards and launched the UK’s first accreditation scheme for aqua parks. The accreditation scheme introduced a recognised and consistent safety standard, making accredited UK aqua parks some of the safest in the world. As appointed auditor for the association, RLSS UK audits parks that have signed up to the accreditation scheme.
Consumers should look out for aqua parks that hold the Industry Approved Aqua Park status; awarded to aqua parks that have met the operational and equipment standards set out within the guidance.
There are two accreditations: ‘Silver’ shows that an aqua park has the correct documents, procedures, staff, and training in place for all the sessions they run, while the ‘Gold’ accreditation indicates that the aqua park not only meets all the operational standards demanded by ‘Silver’ accreditation but also that all its equipment has been third-party tested to meet ISO 25649.
(The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organisations).
Helen Bowker-Steer, Head of Commercial Services, said: “It is an exciting time for the aqua park industry – the development of the Aqua Park Association UK and Ireland in 2021 is a huge step forward.
“The industry now has a voice. It also has an elected board of individuals with the safety and success of the industry at its core. As the auditing partner for the Aqua Parks Association UK and Ireland, RLSS UK is committed to supporting all aqua parks which sign up for the industry approved process.”
Holyrood drop-in session highlights the national digital network’s plans for Scotland’s ultrafast future and commitment to apprenticeship programme
Lothian MSP Foysol Choudhury met engineers and apprentices from Openreach to discuss the roll out of full fibre broadband and the economic benefits fast, reliable connectivity is bringing to Scotland’s economy during a drop-in session at the Scottish Parliament.
The Lothian MSP was updated on work being done to upgrade the country’s broadband network – including across the Lothians, where 190,000 properties now have access to the new, ultrafast technology. He also met apprentices Hayley Goldthorpe and Jack Cotton to hear first-hand about their experiences.
Openreach recently announced it will create and fill around 500 more Scottish jobs during 2022 – including around 390 apprenticeships – as it continues to invest billions of pounds into its UK broadband network, people and training.
Foysol Choudhury MSP said: “Reliable connectivity is a hugely important feature of life in modern Scotland and a necessity for people living and working across Lothian. Openreach engineers and apprentices are working tirelessly to roll out full fibre broadband to more local homes and businesses each week.
“The event in parliament was a great opportunity to quiz management about the priorities ahead and the challenges in more complex areas of build – and discuss how policy changes could help. It was great to learn more about opportunities that can be unlocked, especially for remote and rural communities, by ultra-reliable full fibre broadband.”
According to thinkbroadband, the UK’s largest independent broadband news and information site, nearly 95 per cent of Scots can currently access superfast broadband at 30Mbps+.
At the beginning of the year Openreach announced that more than half a million Scottish homes and businesses can connect to its new gigabit-capable, full fibre network.
Around 40 locations across Lothian – from Edinburgh to Gullane, Loanhead and Dechmont – are included in its plans to reach 25m premises with the technology by the end of 2026.
The drop-in session was hosted by Fraser Rowberry, Openreach’s Chief Engineer for Scotland, who thanked Emma Harper MSP for sponsoring the event.
Fraser Rowberry said: “We know that reliable, ultrafast internet connections can have a transformative effect on businesses, online learning and people’s daily lives. That’s why we at Openreach are committed to rolling them out to homes and business premises across Scotland.
“Research from Cebr last year evidenced the hugely positive economic impact universal connections could have in Scotland. A comprehensive full fibre network could enable 76,000 people to re-enter the workforce and contribute billions of pounds to the Scottish economy.
“We were delighted to be able to take that positive story to MSPs and set out our vision and plans for bringing ultrafast broadband to more of Scotland.”
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding working parents in Scotland to not miss out on the opportunity to get up to £2,000 a year to pay for regulated childcare, including holiday clubs and other out-of-school activities, during the Easter holidays.
Tax-Free Childcare provides thousands of eligible working families with up to £500 every three months (or £1,000 if their child is disabled) towards the cost of holiday clubs, before and after-school clubs, childminders and nurseries, and other approved childcare schemes.
For every £8 deposited into a Tax-Free Childcare online account, families will receive an additional £2 in government top-up, and it is available for children aged up to 11, or 17 if the child has a disability.
More than 19,800 working families used the scheme in December 2021, in Scotland. Overall, HMRC paid out more than £34 million in top-up payments, which was shared between nearly 328,000 families across the UK.
With recent research estimating that around 1.3 million families could be taking up this government support, parents and carers can check their eligibility and register for Tax-Free Childcare via GOV.UK.
This scheme can help working families including the self-employed and is one of many ways the UK Government is supporting households to reduce their costs and keep more of what they earn to help pay for other bills.
Helen Whately, HM Treasury’s Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said: “There are lots of brilliant holiday clubs and childcare providers to help working parents during the Easter holidays, and Tax-Free Childcare is a great offer that can help cut the childcare bills.
“I urge families across the UK to take advantage of this support and put extra pounds in their pocket – sign up now and save on your childcare costs.”
By depositing money into their accounts, families can benefit from the 20% top-up and use the money to pay for childcare costs when they need it. Accounts can be opened at any time of the year and can be used straight away.
For example, if parents and carers have school-aged children and use holiday clubs during school holidays, they could deposit money into their accounts throughout the year. This means they could spread the cost of childcare while also benefitting from the 20% government top-up. Any unused money that is deposited can be simply withdrawn at any time.
Tax-Free Childcare is also available for pre-school aged children attending nurseries, childminders, or other childcare providers. Families with younger children will often have higher childcare costs than families with older children, so the tax-free savings can really make a difference.
Indian National Students Association-UK (INSA) in Association with the Consulate General of India (CGI), Edinburgh organized the “Meet & Greet event for Indian Students in Scotland”, over the weekend.
Taking INSA’s motto of “Creating a home away from home,” to Scotland, the event was a success in terms of being insightful, instructive, and motivating to students who attended.
The programme was joined by Indian students from various levels and subjects of study from major Scottish universities. “Unity in Diversity” was at full display in the event as these students represented various states and languages in India.
The event started with everyone standing for the Indian National Anthem and needless to say that it brought back patriotic and emotional connect to the motherland from far a distance.
Mr. Sagar Kumar Indian Society President for UcLan University shared his experience of being guided by INSA and its objectives to nurture his ambition of helping his fellow Indian students at his university.
Later, Prof. Roger Jefferey, Associate Director, Edinburgh India Institute, lent his support to Indian students and warmly welcomed Indians to the city, even proposing to organize an Indian history tour at the city. He highlighted the historical connect between India and Scotland which was all very new to all the attendees.
Mr. Alok Tripathy, Director, Wipro UK & Ireland, delivered an inspirational message to the students. He emphasized on how as international students they need to come out of their comfort zones of languages / regions and try new experiences while interacting with people of different regions of the world.
He provided valuable tips for students with regards to improving their communicating skills which will help in securing right job opportunities.
The keynote address was delivered by His Excellency Shri Bijay Selvaraj, Consular General of India, Edinburgh as he expressed his support for Indian students across the United Kingdom and particularly in Scotland.
He encouraged them to seize opportunities and offered to assist them in any way they needed. He assured the students that the Consulate intends to be their Home away from Home and invited them to pop-in if and when they are in need of support.
Vote of thanks came from Mr. Amit Tiwari, President-INSA UK who spoke about INSA’s next steps and encouraged new students to join in and get involved.
This was followed by delicious dinner offered by the CGI. Mr. Kishore Dattu (Head of Media & Public Relations – Incharge of North Zone), Mr. Puneet Dwivedi (Co-ordinator, Scotland), and Mr. Niranjan Sharma (Co-ordinator, Scotland) were among the National INSA Team members who attended the event.
The CGI staff, notably Consul Shri Satyaveer Singh and Consul Shri Asif Saeed, contributed to the success of the occasion. Altogether, it was wonderful to be the anchor for the evening, and a great opportunity to get out on a sunny day and network with such accomplished industry executives.
With excellent feedback received from students, INSA – UK is looking forward to launching more valuable events in the future.
Charities are being invited by Scotmid to become its new Charity Partner for 2022/23.
The community retailer is looking for an organisation that shares its values and passion for supporting local communities and would like to build a creative and fun partnership to encourage participation and fundraising from staff, members and customers alike.
With a presence in Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland, the partnership must be able to span a wide geography.
Over the last 20 years, Scotmid has raised millions of pounds for their Charity Partners, including the Scottish SPCA, Samaritans, ChildLine and Alzheimer Scotland.
John Brodie, Chief Executive of Scotmid, said: “Our Charity Partnerships are incredibly important to us. Partners benefit from both an exceptional level of fundraising and extended support in their cause from our colleagues and communities.
“We are excited to hear about projects that can benefit our communities from new potential charity partners.”
Scotmid’s current Charity Partner is Children’s Hospice Association Scotland, better known as CHAS. Funds raised through the partnership have supported the vital development and expansion of CHAS’s outreach service, CHAS at Home, helping the charity on its ambitious mission of reaching every child and family that needs their help in communities across Scotland.
Three other children’s hospices across Scotmid’s trading areas have also benefited from funds raised: Jigsaw, Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice and St Oswald’s Hospice.
Staff working in Scotmid’s food stores, Semichem stores, Scotmid Funerals and Lakes & Dales stores across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England enthusiastically take part in physical challenges, events and traditional in-store fundraising.
Community engagement is also a key element for Scotmid. At the end of last year, children throughout Scotland were invited to design a mascot to represent Scotmid’s charity partnership.
The winning designs, Cuthbert The Fox and Tildy Toadstool, were then brought to life, much to the delight of the talented designers and those who have met the colourful couple!
Angharad Low, Corporate Partnerships Manager at CHAS, said: “It’s been great working with Scotmid to raise awareness and funds for our outreach service, CHAS at Home.
“The passion of Scotmid colleagues, members and customers makes the partnership really special.
“We’re so thankful for the funds that have been raised, which will help families receive quality care in the comfort of their own homes. We would absolutely recommend other charities apply!”
Kirsteen Campbell, CEO Scottish SPCA, said: “Our 2018/19 partnership with the Scotmid Co-operative family was our most successful charity of the year partnership in Scottish SPCA’s history, raising an incredible £325,000.
“Support from Scotmid colleagues enabled us to deliver our ‘Prevention through Education’ programme delivering workshops to 1818 schools and 124 community groups, reaching over 60% of Scotland’s school children! With Scotmid’s support we were able to spread the joy of the human-animal bond further than ever before.
“We’d encourage all charities to apply for this exciting opportunity to be Scotmid’s next Charity Partner.
“You’ll be combining forces with an incredible organisation who really cares about making a massive difference in local communities What are you waiting for? Apply today!”
To apply to be Scotmid’s Charity of the Year 2022/23, please go to:
Nickelodeon has announced a brand new outdoor immersive event, The Nickelodeon Experience, set to launch this summer in Saughton Park.
This first-of-its-kind experience promises to be an epic adventure for the entire family, with it also being the first time in ten years that a Nickelodeon event has taken place in Scotland.
Kicking off in one of Edinburgh’s most beautiful green spaces, Saughton Park, the experience will be touring the UK from July 2022 making further stops at Knebworth House and Heaton Park in Manchester.
Adventure seekers, aged 2-14 years old, can explore the worlds of their favourite Nickelodeon TV shows and discover ten activity zones. From multi-sensory and interactive adventures to creative and skill-based challenges, kids get to map their own journey and curate their own fun.
Kids can go behind the scenes of some of Nickelodeon’s most popular shows including The Thundermans School for Superheroes where they’ll learn to acquire their own super-powers. Step into an episode of Henry Danger, where Nick fans must navigate Henry Danger’s Maze full of secret twists, turns, puzzles and passages. They can also race against the clock to solve the Hunter Street Escape Room mystery, which puts teamwork to the test in an attempt to crack the code and find the key.
The adventures don’t stop there! From a trip to Adventure Bay with an opportunity to meet PAW Patrol’s fan-favourites Chase and Marshall, to a sub-terranean adventure in The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ underground lair, complete with ooze covered tunnels, Nick fans will be utterly captivated in this immersive outdoor adventure.
What’s more, an arts and crafts zone featuring Baby Shark’s Big Show and Blue’s Clues themed activitiesawaits all budding artists. Attendees can also jump on a giant pirate ship, play in rock pools, and make a splash in an immersive play zone based on the swashbuckling world of Santiago of The Seas.
For the perfect finale to the experience, you’re invited to the Slime Time Party to finally know how it feels to get SLIMED – the ultimate Nickelodeon honour!
Alongside these immersive zones, children and their parents can relax at SpongeBob SquarePants’ Bikini Bottom Beach, where they can also sample delicious delights from the many themed food and beverage stalls and visit the Nickelodeon store and take home the perfect memento from an incredible range of exclusive Nickelodeon Experience merchandise.
Capacities are limited but you can book your tickets now at:
Kids tickets start at £29.50 and infants under two years old go free.
THE NICKELODEON EXPERIENCE LOCATION AND DATE
SAUGHTON PARK, EDINBURGH – 1st July – 14th July
HEATON PARK, MANCHESTER – 23rd July – 5th August
KNEBWORTH HOUSE, HERTFORDHSIRE – 14th – 27th August
The Nickelodeon Experience is proudly produced by The Luna Cinema and suitable for children aged two to fourteen years old.
George Wood, founder of The Luna Cinemasays:“We cannot wait for the launch of The Nickelodeon Experience in Edinburgh this summer!
“For years we’ve wanted to develop a truly interactive experience that allowed kids to immerse themselves in the worlds of their favourite TV shows, just as we do with Friends fans at FriendsFest and film lovers with our Luna Cinema screenings, and it’s amazing to be able to bring Nickelodeon to families in Scotland for the first time in ten years!
“To have such an iconic catalogue of shows, including global brands like PAW Patrol, The Thundermans and SpongeBob SquarePants under the Nickelodeon umbrella is a treasure trove of content to explore and bring to life, and we’re really excited to make it happen.”
Virginia Monaghan, VP, Events and Experiences, ViacomCBS UK, commented: “We are thrilled to be partnering with The Luna Cinema to bring our hugely popular Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. shows to life through this uniquely immersive experience.
“This is a chance for children to make new memories with friends, in a safe and fun setting, and with their favourite characters. Nickelodeon hasn’t been to Scotland for ten years now, so it’s going to be extra special to be able to kick-start the nationwide tour in Edinburgh.”
For more information and to purchase tickets please visit:
New guidance outlines free COVID-19 tests will continue to be available to help protect specific groups once free testing for the general public ends on 1 April
Nicola Sturgeon will given an update on Scotland’s position this afternoon
Free COVID-19 tests will continue to be available to help protect specific groups including eligible patients and NHS and care staff once the universal testing offer ends on 1 April and next steps for adult social care set out
Plans in place to enable rapid testing response should a new health threat emerge, such as a new variant of concern emerge
Vaccines and treatments mean we can transition to managing COVID-19 like other respiratory illnesses, with updated guidance published on 1 April
People at risk of serious illness from COVID-19, and eligible for treatments, will continue to get free tests to use if they develop symptoms, along with NHS and adult social care staff and those in other high-risk settings, Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid announced yesterday (Tuesday 29 March).
Free testing for the general public ends on 1 April as part of the Living with Covid plan which last month set out the government’s strategy to live with and manage the virus.
Although COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations have risen in recent weeks, over 55% of those in hospital that have tested positive are not there with COVID-19 as their primary diagnosis.
Free universal testing has come at a significant cost to the taxpayer, with the testing, tracing and isolation budget costing over £15.7 billion in 2021-22. This was necessary due to the severe risk posed by COVID-19 when the population did not have a high level of protection.
Thanks to the success of the vaccination programme and access to antivirals, alongside natural immunity and increased scientific and public understanding about how to manage risk, the population now has much stronger protection against COVID-19 than at any other point in the pandemic.
This is enabling the country to begin to manage the virus like other respiratory infections.
From 1 April, updated guidance will advise people with symptoms of a respiratory infection, including COVID-19, and a high temperature or who feel unwell, to try stay at home and avoid contact with other people, until they feel well enough to resume normal activities and they no longer have a high temperature. Until 1 April individuals should continue to follow the current guidance.
From 1 April, anyone with a positive COVID-19 test result will be advised to try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for five days, which is when they are most infectious.
Advice will be provided for individuals who need to leave their home when they have symptoms or have tested positive, including avoiding close contact with people with a weakened immune system, wearing a face-covering and avoiding crowded places.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid said: “Thanks to our plan to tackle Covid we are leading the way in learning to live with the virus. We have made enormous progress but will keep the ability to respond to future threats including potential variants.
“Vaccines remain our best defence and we are now offering spring boosters to the elderly, care home residents and the most vulnerable – please come forward to protect yourself, your family, and your community.”
Under the plans set out today free symptomatic testing will be provided for:
Patients in hospital, where a PCR test is required for their care and to provide access to treatments and to support ongoing clinical surveillance for new variants;
People who are eligible for community COVID-19 treatments because they are at higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19. People in this group will be contacted directly and sent lateral flow tests to keep at home for use if they have symptoms as well as being told how to reorder tests; and
People living or working in some high-risk settings. For example, staff in adult social care services such as homecare organisations and care homes, and residents in care homes and extra care and supported living services, NHS workers and those working and living in hospices, and prisons and places of detention (including immigration removal centres), where infection needs to be identified quickly to minimise outbreaks. People will also be tested before being discharged from hospital into care homes, hospices.
Asymptomatic lateral flow testing will continue from April in some high-risk settings where infection can spread rapidly while prevalence is high.
This includes patient-facing staff in the NHS and NHS-commissioned Independent Healthcare Providers, staff in hospices and adult social care services, such as homecare organisations and care homes, a small number of care home visitors who provide personal care, staff in some prisons and places of detention and in high risk domestic abuse refuges and homelessness settings.
In addition, testing will be provided for residential SEND, care home staff and residents during an outbreak and for care home residents upon admission. This also includes some staff in prisons and immigration removal centres.
Children and young people who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and avoid contact with other people, where they can. They can go back to school, college or childcare when they no longer have a high temperature, and they are well enough to attend.
The internationally recognised Community Infection Survey delivered through the Office for National Statistics will continue to provide a detailed national surveillance capability in the coming year so the government can respond appropriately to emerging developments such as a new variant of concern or changing levels of population infection.
Infections in health and care settings will also be monitored through bespoke studies including the Vivaldi study in residential care homes, the SIREN study in the NHS, and RCGP surveillance in primary care.
The government has retained the ability to enable a rapid testing response should it be needed, such as the emergence of a new variant of concern.
This includes a stockpile of lateral flow tests and the ability to ramp up testing laboratories and delivery channels.
The government’s Therapeutics Taskforce and Antiviral Taskforce will also be merged into a single unit which will continue to focus on securing access to the most promising treatments for COVID-19.
Dame Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: “As we learn to live with Covid, we are focusing our testing provision on those at higher risk of serious outcomes from the virus, while encouraging people to keep following simple steps to help keep themselves and others safe.
“The pandemic is not over and how the virus will develop over time remains uncertain. Covid still poses a real risk to many of us, particularly with case rates and hospitalisations on the rise. That is why it is sensible to wear a mask in enclosed spaces, keep indoor spaces ventilated and stay away from others if you have any symptoms of a respiratory illness, including Covid.
“Vaccination remains the best way to protect us all from severe disease and hospitalisation due to Covid infection. If you have not yet come forward for your primary or booster I would urge you to do so straight away – the NHS vaccine programme is there to help you and the sooner you are vaccinated the sooner you and your family and friends will be protected.”
Most visitors to adult social care settings, and visitors to the NHS, prisons or places of detention will no longer be required to take a test. More guidance on what people should do when visiting adult social care settings will be published by 1 April.
A number of changes and new guidance is also being confirmed today for adult social care including:
From 1 April, those working in adult social care services will also continue to receive free personal protective equipment (PPE). Priority vaccinations and boosters for residents and staff will also continue
Updated hospital discharge guidance will be published setting out how all involved in health and social care will work together to ensure smooth discharges from hospital and people receive the right care at the right time in the right place
Designated settings will be removed. These were initially set up to provide a period of isolation to COVID-19 positive patients before they move into care homes and before routine point of care testing for COVID-19 was available. Restrictions on staff movement will also be removed
Streamlined guidance on infection and prevention control measures will be published to set out long-standing principles on good practice, and support consistency across the adult social care sector. This will include details on future measures for COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses to ensure providers have the latest information on best practice which will include information on admissions, visiting and PPE
Updated guidance for adult social care providers and staff to set out the current testing regime across adult social care
Outbreak management periods in care homes, which can include visiting restrictions, have been reduced from 14 to 10 days
People aged 75 and over, residents in care homes for elderly adults and those who are immunosuppressed are now eligible to receive a Spring booster jab to top up their immunity to COVID-19. Around five million people will be eligible for a Spring booster around six months after their previous dose, and the NHS has contacted over 600,000 people inviting them to book an appointment. Anyone who has not yet had a COVID-19 jab continues to be encouraged to take up the ‘evergreen’ offer.
Through the Health and Social Care Levy, funding will rise by a record £36 billion over the next three years. This is on top of the previous historic long-term settlement for the NHS, which will see NHS funding increase by £33.9 billion by 2023-24, which has been enshrined in law.
The success of the government’s Living with Covid plan, will enable the country to continue to move out of the pandemic while also protecting those at higher risk of serious outcomes from the virus through our testing regime.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will announce this afternoon whether Scotland’s last remaining Covid regulations will be lifted next week.
The First Minister will update Holyrood on whether the requirement to wear masks in shops and on public transport will end as planned on 4 April.
Covid cases in Scotland remain at an alarmingly high level.
