From tomorrow, Monday 9 August, Scotland will move beyond level 0.
But it’s important to remember that some protective measures will remain in place.
The Scottish Government has published guidance which sets out what you can and cannot do.
Make sure you know how to #StaySafe
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has met with the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland to discuss the United Kingdom’s Covid recovery.
They were joined at yesterday’s meeting by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (CDL). The Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland joined virtually, along with other ministers and officials from the devolved administrations.
Ministers agreed that the meeting provided an important opportunity for dialogue between the UK Government and devolved administrations.
The Prime Minister reflected that, while there are divergent views on the question of the United Kingdom’s constitutional future and the UK Government and devolved administrations will not always agree, these differences should not prevent us from working together to ensure a strong recovery for all parts of the country.
The Chancellor set out the direct UK-wide support provided by HM Treasury in response to COVID-19, which was worth around £352 billion across 2020-21 and 2021-22, and how the sacrifices of the British people coupled with our comprehensive support package and on-going vaccine rollout have laid the foundations for recovery.
Looking forward, he said as we gradually lift restrictions to ensure we maintain control of the virus, there are reasons for cautious optimism with data showing our Plan for Jobs is working.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said that collaboration between the UK Government and devolved administrations on Covid recovery would allow us to emerge from the pandemic stronger. Ministers acknowledged the benefits of mutual aid and burden sharing on healthcare and agreed that there was a clear value in sharing data and best practice.
Summing up, the PM emphasised the importance of establishing a structured and regular forum for ongoing engagement between the UK Government and the devolved administrations to deliver tangible outcomes in the interests of people throughout the UK and of completing the Intergovernmental Relations Review.
Following yesterday’s four-nations summit on Covid recovery First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the meeting must prove to have been more than just a talking shop.
The First Minister said: “We are of course willing to work together on recovery from the pandemic, but the UK Government needs to listen and act on key Scottish Government concerns.
“Because of the powers that rest in Westminster the decisions the UK Government takes have a major impact on the kind of fair recovery we are trying to build in Scotland.
“I sought assurances that there would be no return to the cruel and damaging austerity of the past and that furlough and the £20 uplift in Universal Credit will be extended. The proof of the worth of this meeting depends on whether the UK Government takes these issues seriously and responds accordingly.
“This meeting also took place at a time when the UK Government is undermining devolution through the Internal Market Act and diverting funding away from the Scottish Parliament. This has to stop and instead the UK Government needs to start treating the Scottish Government and other devolved governments as equal partners.”
Attendees:
UK Government
Scottish Government
Welsh Government
Northern Ireland Executive
Jobcentre workers are to be balloted in a move that could lead to industrial action. The move is in response to the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) insistence that staff and customers return to jobcentres to deliver face to face services.
Civil service union PCS says that since 12 April, DWP “has been asking considerably more staff to return to jobcentres to carry out face to face interviews with customers. This is despite staff working from home successfully for up to a year, carrying out these interviews by phone.”
The union argues “that coronavirus still poses a threat to safety and that to extend services in jobcentres now is unsafe, and places staff, their families and customers at risk. We are therefore balloting PCS members working in jobcentres to ask if they would be prepared to take industrial action over DWP’s decision.”
The ballot is consultative and a further ballot of members would be required before strike action could take place.
PCS said its demands include “stopping the extension of face to face services, with face to face interviews taking place only with those identified as most vulnerable until the vaccine programme is complete and low rates of infection have been sustained for a significant period.
“We are also asking that DWP sticks to the agreement made in autumn last year, that work coaches can decide how to progress their own workload, including making decisions about how to interview customers.”
The electronic ballot closes on 21 May.
Thank you, Mr Speaker,
And let me speak first to the people of Liverpool, Lancashire, South Yorkshire, and Greater Manchester, and indeed other areas moving into, or already living under, heightened health restrictions.
I understand your frustration. People need to know this is not forever.
These are temporary restrictions to help control the spread of virus.
There are difficult days and weeks ahead, but we will get through this, together.
People are not on their own.
We have an economic plan that will protect the jobs and livelihoods of the British people wherever they live and whatever their situation.
And just as we have throughout this crisis, we will listen and respond to people’s concerns as the situation demands.
And I make no apology for responding to changing circumstances.
And so today we go further.
Mr Speaker,
The Prime Minister was right to outline a balanced approach to tackling coronavirus:
Taking the difficult decisions to save lives and keep the R rate down, while doing everything in our power to protect the jobs and livelihoods of the British people.
The evidence is clear: a regional, tiered approach is the right way to control the spread of the virus.
My Right Honourable Friend the Chief Secretary yesterday set out for the House our economic support for businesses who are legally required to close under those new restrictions.
We’re providing billions of pounds of support for local authorities; a grant scheme for affected businesses worth up to half a billion pounds every month;
And, of course, we expanded the Job Support Scheme – with the government covering the cost of paying two thirds of peoples’ normal wages if their employer had been legally required to close.
And for areas in local alert level 3 we have made available over a billion pounds of generous up-front grants so that local authorities can support businesses, protect jobs and aid economic recovery, in a fair and transparent way.
That is our plan to support closed businesses.
But it is clear that even businesses who can stay open are facing profound economic uncertainty.
This morning, I met with business and union representatives, including those from the hospitality industry, to discuss the new restrictions.
Their message was clear: the impact of the health restrictions on their businesses is worse than they hoped.
They recognise the importance of the tiered restrictions in controlling the spread of the virus.
But a significant fall in consumer demand is causing profound economic harm to their industry.
It is clear that they, and other open-but-struggling businesses, require further support.
So, Mr Speaker, I am taking three further steps today.
First, I’m introducing a new grants scheme for businesses impacted by Tier 2 restrictions, even if they aren’t legally closed.
We will fund local authorities to provide businesses in their area with direct cash grants.
It will be up to local authorities to decide how best to distribute the grants giving them the necessary flexibility to respond to local economic circumstances.
But I’m providing enough funding to give every business premise in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors a direct grant worth up to £2,100 – for every month Tier 2 restrictions apply.
And that’s equivalent to 70% of the value of the grants available for closed businesses in Tier 3. And crucially, I am pleased to confirm these grants will be retrospective.
Businesses in any area which has been under enhanced restrictions can backdate their grants to August.
I have been listening and engaging with colleagues around the House including but not only my Honourable Friends for Heywood and Middleton, Hyndburn, Penistone and Stockbridge, South Ribble, Burnley, Keighley, Cheadle, Leigh and Southport.
I’m pleased to confirm the backdating of the new grants means we are being more generous to businesses and places which have been under higher restrictions for longer.
Let no one say Mr Speaker this Government is not committed to supporting the people and businesses in every region and nation of the United Kingdom.
Second, to protect jobs, we are making the Job Support Scheme more generous for employers. If businesses are legally required to close, as we’ve already outlined, the Government will cover the full cost of employers paying people two thirds of their salary, where they can’t work for a week or more.
For businesses who can open, it is now clear that the impact of restrictions on them, particularly in the hospitality sector, is more significant than they had hoped.
So I am making two changes to the short time work scheme to make it easier for those businesses to keep staff on, rather than make them redundant.
First, under the original scheme, employees had to work for 33% of their normal hours.
Now, we will ask them to work only 20% of their hours.
Second, the employer contribution for the hours not worked will not be 33%, as originally planned, or even 20% as it is in the October furlough scheme – it will reduce to 5%.
And the scheme will apply to eligible businesses in all alert levels, so businesses that are not closed but face higher restrictions in places like Liverpool, Lancashire, South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, as well as the devolved nations, will be able to access greater support.
These changes mean more employers can access the scheme and more jobs will be protected.
We have made this one of the most generous versions of a short time work scheme anywhere in the world.
It is better for businesses, better for jobs, and better for the economy.
Third, as we increase the contribution we’re making towards employees’ wages, I’m increasing our contribution to the incomes of the self-employed as well.
Today, we are doubling the next round of the self-employed income support from 20% to 40% of people’s incomes, increasing the maximum grant to £3,750.
So far, through this crisis, we have now provided over £13 billion of support to self-employed people.
Sole traders, small businesses and self-employed people are the dynamic entrepreneurial heart of our economy – and this government is on their side.
In conclusion, Mr Speaker,
A wage subsidy for closed businesses.
A wage subsidy for open businesses.
Cash grants of over £2,000 a month for Tier 2 businesses and up to £3,000 for closed businesses.
Support for local authorities.
Support for the self-employed.
Support for people’s jobs and incomes.
All on top of over £200 billion of support since March.
This is our plan: a plan for jobs, for businesses, for the regions, for the economy, for the country; a plan to support the British people. And I commend this statement to the House.
SNP MSP Gordon MacDonald has urged constituents who face financial hardship due to being asked to self-isolate to apply for a £500 self-isolation grant offered by the SNP Government.
The new Self-Isolation Support Grant will help people across Edinburgh who would lose income if they needed to self-isolate, such as those unable to work from home.
This grant is for those who will face financial hardship due to being asked to self-isolate and will be targeted at people who are in receipt of Universal Credit or legacy benefits, with some discretion to make awards to others in financial hardship.
Applications for the Self-Isolation Support Grant opened on 12th October and will be delivered through the existing Scottish Welfare Fund, which is administered by local authorities.
SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon MacDonald said: “I know that self-isolation can be tough, but it is essential to protect people and reduce the spread of coronavirus.
“To ensure people do not experience financial hardship as a result of doing the right thing, the SNP Government has introduced this new £500 grant for people on low incomes who have been asked to self-isolate.
“It’s essential that we do everything we can to support people throughout this challenging time.
“These payments will help ensure people across Edinburgh do not have to make a choice between self-isolating and supporting themselves financially.
“Applications for this new benefit are now open, and I’d urge anyone in Edinburgh who is facing a loss of income due to self-isolating to apply for it.”
Details of The Scottish Government Fund can be found here:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-test-and-protect/pages/support-grants/
Details of how to apply in Edinburgh:
School staff will be offered new support as part of a £1.5 million funding package to help manage additional pressures as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barnardo’s Scotland and mental health charity Place2Be will offer new mental health support for staff with the intention this will be available after the October break.
Education Scotland and the General Teaching Council for Scotland will also offer new professional learning opportunities for post-probation teachers and develop a new coaching and mentoring offer for teachers who need it most.
The funding package also includes the continuation of the Scottish Government’s commitment, in partnership with the Hunter Foundation, to the values-based leadership programmes delivered by social enterprise and charity Columba 1400.
The package of support for school staff has been developed in partnership with organisations represented on the Education Recovery Group.
Education Secretary John Swinney said: “Supporting the health and wellbeing of teachers and other staff is of paramount importance.
“This was true before COVID-19, but it is of crucial importance as school staff support our children and young people to recover from the pandemic. This additional package of measures will complement the excellent practice which is already taking place to support the wellbeing of staff in schools across Scotland.”
Ken Muir, Chief Executive, of the General Teaching Council for Scotland, said: “GTC Scotland is pleased to deliver this important support to hard-working teachers in collaboration with our partners in education.
“GTC Scotland has invested heavily in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of education professionals and we look forward to continuing to do so.”
Gillian Hamilton, Strategic Director at Education Scotland, said: “Ensuring school staff feel well supported, particularly at this time, is essential.
“This new support package, designed collaboratively with partners in the Education Recovery Group, provides direct access to a range of focused supports including coaching, reflective supervision and opportunities for school staff to learn together through the challenges presented by COVID-19.”
Laurence Findlay, Aberdeenshire Council Director of Education and Children’s Services, said: “I am delighted with the support package being put forward as part of ongoing efforts to support the education workforce. I hope as many practitioners as possible make use of these resources.”
Two student nurses have documented their experiences of life on the frontline at Glasgow’s Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
It has been just over one month since Stephanie Clark and Rebecca Mason, third year adult nursing students from the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) joined the fight against COVID-19.
Both nurses currently work alongside teams at the RAH to help care for COVID-19 patients and filmed their experience over the course of two weeks.
You can view the videos here:
Rebecca, who was on placement in the orthopaedics department at the beginning of the out break, said: “The way the staff at the RAH initially responded to the outbreak really inspired me to want to opt in and help in any way I could.
“I was in Spain on placement when I heard about coronavirus,” Stephanie added. “But I knew the first thing I wanted to do upon travelling back was opt in to help.”
Stephanie and Rebecca are two of the 1,200 nursing, midwifery and biomedical science students from UWS supporting teams at hospitals and care settings across Scotland during the pandemic.
Both pre-registration student nurses in their final year of study, Stephanie and Rebecca have been based in elderly medicine and COVID-19 wards at the hospital since opting in.
“I’m helping by taking observations, supporting patients who can’t have any visitors just now, and helping clinical practitioners, whilst also learning as much as I possibly can,” Stephanie explained.
Rebecca added: “It can be tough at times, of course. One of my patients deteriorated really quickly and my role was to ensure I was providing comfort to the patient, who didn’t have any relatives with them.
“It can be hard when you’re wearing full PPE – the patients can only see your eyes, but it is so important to show empathy and compassion.”
“The patients are ill and vulnerable, but providing the best support I can to my team and my patients is my number one priority,” Stephanie said.
“The staff have been so supportive and I really feel like I’m starting to find my feet and my role within the team,” Rebecca said. “While it is challenging at times, I feel privileged to be involved and grateful for this opportunity.”
“It’s really important to me to follow the correct infection control policies that have been put in place for all staff at the hospital. While I am a third year student and I do work in the hospital, I’m also a mum and I need to make sure I’m doing what I can to protect my husband and two kids.”
Stephanie added: “We are hugely grateful to the public too, who are staying at home to keep safe and protect the NHS.”
Paul Hendry, NHSGGC’s Lead Nurse for the Emergency Care Medical Specialty Team at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, said: “The contribution made from the student nurse cohort has been a tremendous boost in supporting in the care of patients.
“Joining the frontline at the best of times can be daunting, and to see the skill, professionalism and enthusiasm brought by the students is a testament to their training.
“They work closely with the staff across services, who help support them in the delivery of everything from day-to-day tasks to planning and delivering care in both the COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 wards.
These are unprecedented times and everyone is working together, adapting to changing circumstances and experiencing new kinds of pressures. Despite this, by working jointly, we’re able to continue delivering effective person centred care throughout and I’m extremely proud of the way the whole team has responded to the pandemic.
“This has been a career defining moment for everyone within healthcare.”
UWS is Scotland’s largest provider of nursing and midwifery education, with all four of its Scottish campuses equipped with state-of-the-art clinical skills simulation facilities, replicating hospital, primary care and domestic environments.
Julie Edgar, Dean of the School of Health and Life Sciences at UWS, said: “It is hard to put into words how proud we are of all of our students who have risen to the challenge and opted in to help our NHS at this vital time.
“It has been fantastic to watch Rebecca and Stephanie’s video diaries of their time based at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
“Hands-on experience is a key component of all of our programmes, with a large proportion of our pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes delivered in practice. It is with this in mind that we had absolute confidence our students would be well-prepared to lend an important hand in supporting the NHS and others on the frontline at this time.
“Each and every one of our students should feel incredibly proud of themselves and know that UWS is here to support them every step of the way.”
