While the pandemic has had an impact on all parents and families, the severity of that impact, and the potential long-term consequences, will vary significantly.
While there have been positives for some families in being able to spend more time together, emerging evidence suggests others are experiencing increasing mental ill health, poverty, domestic abuse and child neglect.
There are also concerns around the impact on children’s development, perhaps especially for those born in the last year.
The Committee has decided to conduct a short inquiry on this topic, and will begin by hearing from organisations working with more vulnerable and disadvantaged families about what they have observed over the last year and their concerns for the future.
Witnesses
Tuesday 20 April 2021
At 9.45am, the Committee will hear evidence from:
Jabeer Butt, Chief Executive, Race Equality Foundation
Sally Hogg, Head of Policy and Campaigning, Parent-Infant Foundation
David Holmes, Chief Executive, Family Action
Jaine Stannard, Chief Executive, School-Home Support
Jane Williams, CEO Founder, The Magpie Project
Themes for discussion
How the pandemic has affected more vulnerable and disadvantaged families.
What the long-term impact of the pandemic might be for parents and children.
What action is needed from Government to respond to these concerns.
A panel of the public convened by the Scottish Parliament’s Covid-19 Committee has reported its findings to MSPs.
The 19-member panel, which broadly reflects the demographic make-up of Scotland, met over four Saturdays to consider the question ‘What priorities should shape the Scottish Government’s approach to COVID-19 restrictions and strategy in 2021’, hearing from experts to help inform its findings.
Key conclusions in its report include:
* The panel believes the Scottish Government should focus on stopping the spread of virus, ideally by pursuing an ‘elimination’ strategy.
* The panel believes elimination would provide the fastest way back to ‘normal’, but also recognised that this needs maximum cooperation across UK, as well as accepting travel restrictions;
* If this is not possible, the panel recommends a ‘maximum suppression’ strategy should be adopted, with a reinvigorated Test and Protect to keep case numbers low once they have dropped. The panel concluded that by tackling the direct harm of the virus head on, other harms (economic, societal, other health problems) will also reduce;
* Priority should also be given to supporting a green recovery, young people’s economic opportunities, town centres, and continuing support for businesses;
* The Scottish Government must therefore define what it is aiming to achieve and tell us what its strategy is moving forward. Key to understanding this is what it deems to be an acceptable level of infection in the population, so that it is clear what restrictions will be effective in 2021.
The panel also considered wider issues associated with the pandemic within its deliberations. It agreed:
* Previous lockdowns happened too slowly – resulting in longer lockdowns and more deaths;
* Communication and explaining strategies is key to public acceptance and understanding. This is most effective when scientists and clinicians can take centre stage;
* Globally, no one is safe until everyone is safe.
Members of the panel will give evidence to MSPs on the Covid-19 Committee about their report today (Thursday 18 February).
In the coming weeks, the report will also inform MSPs’ consideration of the possible extension of the emergency Coronavirus legislation, which is currently due to expire at the end of March.
Covid-19 Committee Convener, Donald Cameron MSP, said:“The Committee is very grateful to the members of the public and experts who gave their time to participate in deliberations.
“The steps taken to counter this virus are so drastic they would have been unimaginable a year ago. It is therefore vital we gauge the public mood as we enter into the next phase of managing the pandemic.
“The considered priorities of this broadly representative group, who have looked at the issue with fresh eyes, will help inform us as we begin to look at the likely extension of the emergency powers, and work to ensure the efforts of Government are focused in the right place.
“We are looking forward to hearing more from panel members, and testing their conclusions, at our next meeting.”
The panel was announced and first met on 16 January.
The full report and further information on the panel will be online here.
A citizens’ panel met online for the first time on Saturday to discuss how Scotland is and should continue to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. The panel will meet for the next four weekends before reporting its conclusions to the Scottish Parliament’s Covid-19 Committee.
Participants in the 20-member panel, who have been chosen to broadly reflect the demographics of Scotland, and includes residents from all eight Parliamentary regions, will be asked to respond to the question ‘What priorities should shape the Scottish Government’s approach to COVID-19 restrictions and strategy in 2021?’.
To help in forming a response to this question, a range of experts will give presentations on issues including public health, medical and behavioural science, epidemiology and virology, and the social, legal and economic aspects of the pandemic.
It is expected that the panel’s findings will help the Committee scrutinise the Scottish Government’s strategic approach to the pandemic, including what priorities should inform any future restrictions in 2021.
The Committee will also reflect on the panel’s findings to inform its recommendations for how Covid scrutiny should continue after the election.
Speaking ahead of the first meeting, the Covid-19 Committee Convener, Donald Cameron MSP, said: “In spite of the hope provided by vaccines, we find ourselves at a worrying juncture in this pandemic. Unfortunately, there is a going to be a need for restrictions for months to come, and the way we respond in 2021 is likely to shape our economy and society for many years to come.
“Therefore, it is critical that we have public support for Government plans to respond to Covid-19, and that we ensure areas important to the public are prioritised. While the Covid-19 Committee is able to provide robust scrutiny and recommendations, it will be immensely helpful to this work to have the informed opinion of a representative group of citizens.
“We are very grateful to the panel members and experts assisting them for giving up their time, and look forward to receiving the final report next month.”
The Citizens’ Panel will meet online on Saturdays 16, 23, 30 January and 6 February. A report will be produced thereafter.
The Scottish Parliament’s Covid-19 Committee, which will be tasked with considering any changes to lockdown legislation, has launched a consultation to gather views about moving out of the current lockdown phase.
The call for views is intended to inform MSPs looking at the Scottish Government’s framework for decision-making, and considering any proposals to change the current rules.
The Committee understands that future decisions will need to balance competing demands, benefits and harms, and wants to ensure a wide range of voices are taken into account before final decisions reached.
The Committee is particularly keen to gather views on:
• The overall strategy set out in the Scottish Government’s Framework for Decision Making;
• The scope for differing approaches being followed in different areas – across Scotland or the UK;
• Maintaining public confidence in the public sector response to COVID-19 whilst easing current restrictions;
• How different interests could be involved in the decision-making process about lifting restrictions, and what would help the final decisions to be widely supported despite any necessary trade-offs;
• Could the current decision-making processes used by the Scottish Government to respond to COVID-19 be improved, and if so how;
• How robust is the data used to inform the response;
• How should the Scottish Government’s messaging strategy be developed as we transition out of the current lockdown (and potentially have to create other or further restrictions in the future).
Speaking as the call for views was launched, Committee Convener, Murdo Fraser MSP, said: “This is an unprecedented and complex situation which requires the Scottish Government to make difficult decisions, necessarily involving competing interests and challenging trade-offs.
“Rightly, until now, we have relied heavily on doctors and scientists. But as we move into the next phases of the Covid-19 response, as a Committee we are mindful of the need to involve a wide range of voices.
“The discussions and debates in the weeks and months ahead do not have obvious or ‘right’ answers, and understanding what different sections of society think is vital to being able to find a consensus, or at least broad agreement, on the path forward.
“To help us as we seek to find that route, we are asking people – business groups, charities, civil society, and interested members of the public – to drop us a short response outlining their thoughts on how we can and should find the right balance moving forward.”
