Tag: coronavirus

Scottish Construction Leadership Forum releases recovery plan

A draft recovery plan for the construction sector in Scotland has been launched by the Scottish Construction Leadership Forum (CLF).

The plan, which has been created collaboratively with industry, sets out the pathway for joint action between industry and the public sector in response to the impact caused by the global pandemic on the on the construction sector.

The construction industry in Scotland has, like many others, been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The sector in Scotland which provided £7.8 billion GVA to the Scottish economy and employs 143,000 people in over 50,000 enterprises, is estimated to have contracted by 28.6 per cent in June as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic compared to the same month a year ago (June 2019). 

The recovery plan has been created through extensive consultation and collaboration with more than 50 organisations across business, Scottish Government, trades unions and other bodies, including the Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum, and represents a shared view from across the sector of a plan to get industry back on its feet. 

The plan outlines the immediate and short-term response to Covid-19 and sets out a pathway between this and the longer-term transformation required to build a stronger, fairer and greener economic future for Scotland.

Peter Reekie, chief executive of the Scottish Futures Trust and chair of the editorial group of the Construction Leadership Forum, said: “The construction industry in Scotland has received a major blow from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“However, the level of collaboration which has gone in to preparing this Recovery Plan is unprecedented and sets a strong foundation for transformative recovery for the industry. I urge all stakeholders with an interest in the construction and related industries in Scotland to feed in your thoughts to make it even stronger.”

Ken Gillespie, chair of the Industry Leadership Group, said: “This plan has only been possible through the depth of collaboration across the sector, and hard work of all involved, and demonstrates the sector’s ability to come together in a time of crisis.

“This is only the beginning though. The plan will evolve and respond to reflect the feedback and the needs of the sector. We are therefore calling for industry to review and contribute to the plan.”

The plan identifies five areas for concerted and collaborative efforts over the coming months and has established Sub-Groups to develop and progress joint action plans:

  1. Pipeline & Commercials
  2. Skills & Workforce
  3. Transformation
  4. Supply Chain Resilience & Capability
  5. Industry Data & Insight

The plan calls for key actions to respond to immediate needs which include: 

  • A clear pipeline of work brought to market quickly and efficiently on fair commercial terms which reflect the reality of the Covid-19 environment.
  • Support of employment, fairness of work and those who may become unemployed through what will be a difficult period.
  • Transformation of working practices to maintain and enhance worker safety whilst enabling productivity in the Covid-19 working environment.

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “The construction sector supports many other areas of our economy so it is important that we maintain the health and vitality of the industry.

“In order to develop this plan, we have reached new heights of collaboration but we are now keen to hear from the wider industry to ensure that we arrive at a plan that will preserve jobs and help to revive our economy.”

The Scottish Construction Leadership Forum (CLF), which has led the development of the plan, is a collaborative initiative of Construction Scotland and the Scottish Government.

It was established in March 2019. Chaired by Housing Minister Kevin Stewart for the duration of the crisis, it widened its membership in response to Covid-19 and has already developed and implemented plans to get the industry safely back to work to develop and implement an action plan of improvement initiatives aligned with Government policies and the Construction Scotland Industry Strategy.

Several streams of work are ongoing and prior to Covid-19, the Forum was at the early stages of considering a wider agenda for change across the industry.

The CLF shared vision is of an industry that promotes a safe, productive, profitable, digitally-enabled, low-carbon, and socially responsible construction industry which offers quality jobs and fair work to a highly skilled and diverse workforce and a quality and life-time value product to its customers.

The recovery plan is available to view on https://www.constructionforum.scot/. 

Industry is invited to send feedback, comments and questions via the website on enquiries@constructionforum.scot by 15 September.

CLF will take all feedback on board to help develop the plan further, with regular updates published on the CLF site.

Gyms reopen in Scotland

Gyms, swimming pools and indoor sports courts can reopen from today in Scotland, two weeks earlier than originally planned.

A spokesperson for PureGym said: “We are delighted to be opening our 25 gyms in Scotland today and welcoming back hundreds and thousands of members who want to get back to working out.

“Better health and fitness is an important contributor in the fight against Covid-19. The safety of our members is our number one priority and so we have significantly enhanced our cleaning and safety standards in our gyms, in close consultation with medical experts, to ensure that they are safe places to work and safe places to workout.

“All gyms have sanitisation stations, contact-free entry and rigorous overnight deep cleaning and we’ve received highly positive feedback on cleanliness from our members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who have already returned for millions of gyms visits without incident.”

You can find information about PureGym’s safety measures for re-opening here, and pictures of what the gyms will look like here.

Health experts have encouraged the public to take more exercise during the Coronavirus pandemic. Excess weight puts people at greater risk of serious illness or deth from COVID-19.

Lucie Bennett, Chief Nutritionist at Fitnazz, said: “We’ve just published the Biggest List on the Internet for the Benefits of Exercise, which includes a free implementable Guide”.

Check out the Benefits of Exercise list below:

60+ Benefits of Exercise – The Ultimate List (updated)

Counting down to Programme for Government

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will publish a Programme for Government next week focused on dealing with the economic, health, and social crisis caused by coronavirus (COVID-19).

Protecting public health will remain the priority, and the Scottish Government will also set out plans to help people, businesses and communities recover from the pandemic by creating new jobs, promoting lifelong health and wellbeing and tackling inequalities.

The Programme for Government, which will be published on Tuesday, will take steps to ensure that in responding to the pandemic Scotland also delivers on its commitments to tackle child poverty and to reach net-zero by 2045.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the Programme for Government 2020-21, the First Minister said: “COVID-19 – the single greatest public health crisis of our lifetimes – has had a profound impact on our health, economy and society, indeed our whole way of life. These are not normal times, and this will not be a normal Programme for Government.

“Businesses and individuals have made extraordinary sacrifices to tackle this pandemic together. In every community in Scotland people have shown incredible resilience, compassion and skill to provide everything from the most advanced intensive care, to simple acts of kindness. 

“That is why it’s so important for us to continue to keep the virus under control. 

“At the same time we must also look to the future – to think about how we can help people, businesses and communities recover from this pandemic. We cannot, and should not, let this virus define our futures.

“Next week, I will set out radical and wide-ranging policies not only to help Scotland through this crisis but to drive a strong recovery with a renewed focus on what matters to people across the country.

“We have an opportunity, not simply to go back to how things were, but to address many of the deep seated challenges our country faces. The Programme for Government 2020-21 will be based on our determination to recover from this virus and deliver a fairer, greener and more prosperous Scotland for everyone.”

To be Published on Tuesday 1 September, the Programme for Government 2020-21 will set out the Scottish Government’s priorities through to the end of this Parliament in May 2021.

Universities must not become the care homes of a Covid second wave, says UCU

Universities must scrap plans to reopen campuses next month in order to prevent a major public health crisis, the University and College Union said yesterday.

The union fears that the migration of over a million students across the UK risks doing untold damage to people’s health and exacerbating the worst health crisis of our lifetimes.

UCU said that the prospect of mass student migration was already challenging enough, but the A-levels fiasco and the removal of the cap on the number of students universities can recruitrisked overwhelming some institutions and turning universities into the care homes of a second wave.

UCU said that demanding over a million young people move around the UK to attend university made no sense. The union highlighted there is no functioning track and trace system in place, nor any UK-wide plans to regularly test students or staff. UCU said the push to get students back on campus was being driven by a dangerous desire to get back to business as usual, before it was safe to do so.

UCU said that, rather than allowing universities to reopen precipitously, the government had to step in and underwrite any lost funding for the higher education sector. The union said universities that rely on tuition and accommodation fees feared lost income and the government had to make it clear now that they will not suffer financially for doing the right thing in terms of public health.

The union accepted that there would be challenges switching from blended learning to online, but that the move outweighed the health risks for students and the wider population. UCU added that it was highly likely that reopening campuses would result in local lockdowns and courses being moved online. The union said it was best to make that call now instead of a U-turn that would be too late even by this government’s standards.

In the US more universities are moving back to online only after seeing increases in Covid cases. There are also examples across the Atlantic of students being blamed for increases in cases and lockdowns – something UCU said it wanted to avoid being repeated in the UK.

The union said that if campuses reopen and cases rise then blaming students, instead of doing everything to mitigate against it happening, would be a denial of responsibility by government and universities.

The union said it backed recommendations in last week’s report from the Independent Sage committee that called for online learning to become universities’ default position.

The union said that although recorded cases were on the rise, the government has not provided systems for testing and tracing that could cope with campuses reopening and universities have failed to step into the breach.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘Moving a million plus students around the country is a recipe for disaster and risks leaving ill-prepared universities as the care homes of a second wave.

“The recent fiasco over exam results and their fallout has left universities under even greater pressure. It is time for the government to finally take some decisive and responsible action in this crisis and tell universities to abandon plans for face-to-face teaching.

‘Refusing to act now will only store up problems further down the line as courses are forced to move online and students forced into lockdown. It is no good blaming students later on for a problem that could have been avoided by government action. We need to move all teaching online for the first term of the new academic year, as recommended by Independent Sage, and the government needs to underwrite any lost funding for the sector.

‘The limited, piecemeal funding measures announced by the government so far are nothing compared with the security and the stimulus that would be provided by a comprehensive funding guarantee. Students will also need financial support to ensure that they can participate fully in online learning .’

The union has issued new guidance that also calls for greater testing on campus and better and more cleaning.

UCU said it wanted colleges and universities to work with the union on risk assessments to ensure staff and students could be confident their health and welfare was institutions’ number one concern. Earlier this week, the union called for face coverings to be worn in colleges and universities.

At 4pm on Tuesday Jo Grady will be joined by guests including Independent Sage members Professor Ann Phoenix and Professor Elizabeth Stokoe, and president of the National Union of Students Larissa Kennedy to consider how campuses could reopen safely. The event will be live on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

 Full details are available here.

Screen & Shield: tying up with style!

Screen & Shield, local supplier of high quality, multi-choice face masks, is hoping to see their coverings being worn by some of the UK’s best-known celebrities.

They have collaborated with beauty director and celebrity stylist influencers This is Mothership – who have a large, engaged and loyal following, including a host of TV and reality stars – to produce the Dot Blizzard #sasMASK.   

When Screen & Shield arranged an informal tie-up with This is Mothership last month, they sold out of their Dot Blizzard #sasMASK in less than two hours. 

10% of all sales will go to This is Mothership’s adopted charity Camp Simcha and a further 10% of sales will go to NHS Charities Together.

Edinburgh-based Screen & Shield was created after self-employed dad Hass Paymani became alarmed at the unavailability, distribution and quality of face coverings.

Hass said: “We believe we offer the best masks in the market in terms of quality and style, so this collaboration with This is Mothership is the perfect partnership.

“We’re looking forward to seeing some of their best-known followers from the TV and celebrity world, as well as their many loyal followers, wearing our mask.

“We’re also delighted to help This is Mothership continue to raise much-needed funds for Camp Simcha.”

This is Mothership – Samantha Silver and Gemma Rose Breger – who described their blog as a fashion and beauty destination for busy mamas, has some 55,000 followers on Instagram.

This is Mothership stated on their Instagram Page: “We’re smiling behind here, we promise, because the other week we did a shout out asking if anyone who couldn’t access a re-usable mask for any reason to get in touch with us. @screenandshield, a brilliant small business, have worked with us to provide re-usable face masks for families in need and they are on route to them now.

“We’ve also collaborated with @screenandshield on the This Is Mothership Dot Blizzard print mask. It’s triple-layered, reliably sourced cotton and monochrome, with a nose guard that doesn’t steam up glasses. It’s £10 and we are donating all of our proceeds from the collaboration to the charity @campsimchauk – supporting seriously ill children and their families.”

Hass Peymani set up his Screen and Shield brand from scratch just two months ago – but since then, he’s had tens of thousands of masks produced to keep up with demand.

Unlike many of the masks on the market, the #sasMASK is manufactured in Europe and complies with the latest material and layering guidelines for non-medical-grade face coverings.  

The #sasMASK has not only been designed to be washable, comfortable and affordable but also comes in more than 50 designs.        

As well as sales to individuals, Screen & Shield have increasingly set up relationships with many businesses, community groups and organisations to supply masks to their networks.

Screen & Shield is using its website https://screenandshield.co.uk/ and social media to drive awareness and sales, particularly facebook.com/screenandshield/.  

For more information on Screen & Shield – go to: https://screenandshield.co.uk/

For more information on This is Mothership – go to :

https://www.thisismothership.com/

‘All possible measures to be taken before schools and colleges close’

England prepares for schools return

The UK Government has published detailed guidance for England’s schools on contingency planning for areas with local lockdowns in place.

The guidance sets out that all possible measures should be taken before any restrictions are imposed on schools to maintain consistent education for children and young people.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “Our primary focus remains supporting all schools to welcome back all pupils for the start of term and we thank teachers and staff for their hard work in preparations.

“We hope that we won’t have to implement the guidance set out today because the local lockdown measures we have introduced so far are working. Changes to school attendance will only ever be an absolute last resort.

“However, it is important that both government and schools prepare for a worst case scenario, so this framework represents the sensible contingency planning any responsible government would put in place.”

The updated CONTAIN guidance sets out four tiers of restrictions for education settings, for use as an absolute last resort in areas subject to local restrictions.

All schools, colleges and other education settings are opening for the start of term, with all those in areas subject to local restrictions currently at Tier 1 – fully open to all pupils full time, with face coverings required in corridors and communal areas for pupils in Year 7 and above.

Local authority leaders and directors of public health, alongside national government, would be at the centre of any decision making to move out of Tier 1 for education settings.

They would take all other possible measures, including implementing restrictions on other sectors, before considering restricting attendance in education.

If all other measures have been exhausted, Tier 2 would advise secondary schools and colleges in a restricted area to use rotas to help break chains of transmission of coronavirus, while primary schools remain open to all pupils.

Tiers 3 and 4 introduce remote learning full time for wider groups of pupils, with vulnerable children and children of critical workers continuing to attend.

The government asked schools in July to ensure they were able to provide high quality remote education that mirrors in-school education, in case any pupils were required to self-isolate or local restrictions were needed. These plans should extend to rotas if ever required.

All children are due to return to school for the autumn term and schools have been putting in place protective measures to reduce the risk of transmission.

School staff have been working to implement increased hygiene and handwashing with children remaining in consistent groups, using measures such as staggered break times to keep groups apart.

To further reassure parents and teachers that all proportionate measures are being taken to make schools as safe as possible, the government has announced that in areas of the country currently subject to enhanced restrictions, staff and pupils in secondary schools should wear face coverings in communal areas where social distancing cannot be maintained.

From this week, schools and colleges have begun receiving home testing kits, each receiving a pack of 10 tests, with more available to be ordered if needed. The home testing kits are to be used in exceptional circumstances such an individual with symptoms who may have barriers to accessing a test elsewhere and the home kit would significantly increase their chance of getting tested. This will enable schools and colleges to take swift action to protect others if the test result is positive.

Schools are also receiving packs of PPE to use in the very limited circumstances it may be required, such as when it is not possible for a staff member to maintain 2m distance from a pupil with a suspected case of coronavirus.

This week the Chief Medical Officers from all four nations in the United Kingdom made it clear that the risks to children contracting Covid-19 in school or college is extremely low and that the risks associated with not being in school or college outweighs that of not being there.

The Department for Education has also published further guidance to help schools plan for potential Tier 2 restrictions, which will involve secondary year groups operating a rota system in order to reduce pupil numbers on-site.

Education leaders have expressed frustration that the latest guidance was published on Friday evening at the start of a Bank Holiday weekend, giving them little time to prepare and organise for schools returning next week.

Emergency funding for culture and heritage organisations

Culture and heritage sectors are to benefit from a £59 million funding package to protect jobs and help the industry weather the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

A new £15 million Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund will provide critical support to a range of businesses such as art galleries, studio facilities, comedy venues, large music venues, commercial theatres, orchestras, dance companies and nightclubs.

It will help to reduce the threat of insolvency, protect jobs and create conditions for a more viable and sustainable future for the sector.

The funding also includes £21.3 million for Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to protect jobs and support the reopening of properties in their care.

An additional £5.9 million will be made available to support heritage organisations through committed grants, and £270,000 for the New Lanark Trust (above) will help secure the future of one of Scotland’s six World Heritage Sites.

The package also includes:

  • £5 million to address the immediate financial hardship faced by creative freelancers
  • £5 million to support artists to continue developing new creative work that will make a significant contribution to Scotland’s recovery from COVID-19, including £1.5 million for the Culture Collective programme to support organisations employing freelance artists to work in communities across Scotland
  • £3.5 million for independent cinemas
  • £3 million for youth arts including a funding boost for the Youth Music Initiative which will provide work for musicians

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “It’s been an extremely trying time for everyone in the culture and heritage sectors over the last few months. The major issues presented by the pandemic are not going away but as we slowly start to reopen, this funding will provide much needed emergency support and aid the recovery.

“We have taken time to work closely with and listen carefully to the sectors, to understand exactly what they need. We want to reach as many people as possible and I do believe these funds will make a marked difference in ensuring our culture and heritage sectors not only survive the pandemic but thrive in future.

“As extensive as this package of support is, we know there will still be more needed. Culture and heritage are vitally important to all of our lives in Scotland, at this time more than ever. Without significant borrowing powers, there is only so much the Scottish Government can do.  I urge the UK Government to consider extending the furlough scheme, to ensure longer term support as we continue to navigate this crisis.”

Iain Munro, Creative Scotland Chief Executive, said: “We very much welcome this significant announcement of much needed emergency support. This follows a great deal of work involving Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government, but also many people and organisations from across Scotland’s cultural community.

“We appreciate the challenges that everyone working in culture is facing and are pleased to now be able to offer some clarity. Creative Scotland will continue to work at pace to deliver this emergency funding to where it’s needed as quickly as possible.”

The culture funds will be delivered through Creative Scotland and follows on from the previously announced £12.5 million Performing Arts Venue Relief Fund and £2.2 million support for Grassroots Music Venues. It comes as part of the £97 million in UK Government consequentials for the culture and heritage sectors.

Creative Scotland are establishing the details of the funds and how they can be accessed. More information will be made available next week.

Funding that has been announced so far to support the culture and heritage sectors includes:

  • £10 million funding package for events
  • £4 million Museums Recovery and Resilience Fund
  • £3.8 million to protect jobs at the National Trust for Scotland
  • £12.5 million Performing Arts Venue Relief Fund
  • £2.2 million for Grassroots Music Venues

Police granted powers to break up large house parties

Restrictions on social gatherings will come into force from today (Friday 28 August) making it an offence to breach coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance by having a large house party indoors.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made it clear that the move, which will be reviewed every three weeks, was necessary to ensure socialising can continue in a safe and responsible manner ahead of an expected rise in indoor gatherings during autumn and winter months.

Reports from local outbreak Incident Management Teams suggest that the increasing number of house parties taking place against guidance pose a major risk of COVID-19 transmission and could present high-risk ‘super-spreader’ environments.

Taking responsible action now can help protect families, communities, schools and local businesses from having to return to the stricter lockdown measures necessary to contain any virus outbreak.

The First Minister said: “Seeing friends is particularly important during what is a really difficult period. But it needs to be done safely and responsibly. That is how we avoid the return of some of the stricter lockdown measures and continue to contain this virus.

“We know from our test and protect teams – and also from evidence around the world – that large, indoor gatherings pose a major transmission risk.

“The majority of people, young and old, will be sticking with limits under current guidance – and I am very grateful for that – however, there are a minority who don’t.

“I want to make it very clear – particularly to young people – that this is not about stopping you having fun, but enabling you to have fun safely.

“Ensuring police have the powers to enter and disperse large house parties is another tool in suppressing the virus. While we expect these powers to be used as a last resort, it will help to reduce the potential for future clusters and outbreaks.”

Under current guidance, no more than eight people from a maximum of three different households should be meeting indoors. That remains in place.

To take account of varying sizes and compositions of families across Scotland, it will be an offence for someone to have a party indoors in their house with more than fifteen people from more than one household present, with limited exceptions.

Local public health consultant develops technology to reduce risk of exposure to COVID-19 in economic spaces

Medical doctor, clinical epidemiologist and public health consultant, Dr Paul Nelson, has developed a pioneering technology that will significantly reduce the risk of exposure to Covid-19 in all ‘economic spaces’ – shops? – across the City of Edinburgh and beyond.

The groundbreaking innovation, supported by early adopters, Essential Edinburgh and a number of independent retailers, is set to roll out across the city next month, affording shop workers and patrons a safer working environment whilst inspiring confidence and supporting the recovery of economic activity. 

Dr Paul Nelson said: “We are creating a Movement which is enabling business owners and residents alike, to take back some control and mitigate the effects that the pandemic has had on their livelihoods.

“We’ve witnessed a significant amount of initial interest so far and are delighted to be working with Essential Edinburgh to roll this out across Edinburgh and beyond.

“As we all get on board and as the shopkeepers (and other business owners)  become gatekeepers, we all safeguard the economy by identifying symptomatic people. Businesses, harnessing the Dunkirk Spirit, will create a Cordon Sanitaire or Community Screening Programme that is currently lacking and not even possible to be provided in the usual way via public services.”

“Contact tracing is crucial to halt the spread of the virus and currently there is no way of picking up people who have symptoms if they don’t go to their doctor. According to the latest figures from ONS, 70% of cases are not currently referring themselves for testing.”

Roddy Smith, Chief Executive and Director of Essential Edinburgh commented: “Consumer confidence has understandably taken a big hit and businesses are also dealing with the huge impact of lockdown and will be for some time.

Empowering both businesses and consumers, FFZ has the potential to provide an additional level of confidence for both. We’re really looking forward to working with Paul and the team to further support our businesses and local community.”

Ian Murray MP, Labour Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South commented: “I am delighted that this idea, developed by a local resident Dr. Paul Nelson, is coming to fruition.

“I appreciate that many businesses will have suffered and most importantly will continue to suffer for the coming weeks or months as we recover from lockdown and this innovation provides a technological route to augment recovery for businesses across Edinburgh and beyond.”

The simple integrated symptom screening membership service designed to enable businesses and customers to reduce the risk of exposure to people with Covid-19 is completely non-invasive and simple to operate.

Shop owners will take the temperature of patrons on entry into their spaces using a clinically approved, contactless thermometer which will then communicate via Bluetooth to a free Fever Free app downloaded by each user.

The process uses a progressive web app, which means it doesn’t need to be downloaded from the App store and requires only bare minimum personal data.

Once cleared, the person is issued a six hours pass attesting they are fever-free. During this time, the pass ‘holder’ will experience a frictionless outing as they show it to other participating businesses in the area, all while preserving the privacy of all participants

If high temperature is detected, the shopkeeper will encourage the person to go home and the app will prompt them to pass on details to the contact tracing services (if they agree), who will get in touch with the person to be sent a test.

Argyle Place and Roseneath Street area, Edinburgh (EH9) businesses are driving the first Fever Free Zones as the team begin to roll out the technology.

An early adopter of FFZ, Karen Kirkness, owner of Meadowlark Yoga on Argyle Place, added: “We need to keep our spaces open if our economy is to survive, while maintaining the responsibility to do so as safely as possible.

“FFZ empowers us to identify symptoms that help our community to help itself in its efforts to stay healthy, engage with the economy, all while supporting the NHS’s efforts to track and trace.”

Dr Nelson concludes: “It is hoped that the frictionless access to fever-free high streets will inspire confidence and boost economic activity. If fevers are measured at the point-of-access, and if in turn this triggers a consent-initiated contact with NHS Test and Protect, then these measures could dramatically improve NHS Trace and Protect’s ability to eradicate COVID-19.”

UK government guidelines should be followed at all times, such as wearing a face covering and maintaining social distancing guidelines.

For more information visit: www.feverfree.zone