The number of military staff assisting with the autumn/winter vaccination programme has been increased to support the acceleration of the booster roll-out in Scotland.
With the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, all those aged 18 and over will be offered a booster jab by the end of the year with everyone aged 18-59 currently invited to book an appointment via the online portal or attend a drop-in clinic.
An additional 100 military vaccinators are joining the existing 100 staff who are working to help with the roll-out. There are also 15 nurses and six support staff currently assisting with the programme and this support will remain in place until 28 February.
The new personnel will undergo final training before delivering vaccinations from next week. Discussions are taking place to ensure they are deployed where they are needed most and this will kept under continual review with staff reassigned when appropriate.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “We are so grateful to everyone who has been involved in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Scotland, including the military, which has ensured more than 10.5 million doses – first, second, third and boosters – have already been delivered.
“We are now in the midst of an extremely busy period for the national autumn/winter vaccination programme with COVID-19 booster injections being offered to all those aged 18 and over.
“The emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is adding to the winter pressures usually faced by the NHS which is why we have again requested military support to complement our existing resources and ensure we can get vaccinations into arms as quickly as possible.
“Demand for boosters may mean you may have to wait in a queue at drop-in centres but we urge everyone to be patient.
“At this time it is also particularly important that we continue to take all precautions to prevent transmission. So test regularly for the virus, limit socialising in the run up to Christmas, wear face marks where required and open windows to improve ventilation.”
The Scottish Government will publish updated Covid guidance for businesses later today.
In a further development, HM Treasury has rejected an appeal for additional cash to support Scottish businesses.
Scotland’s finance secretary Kate Forbes wrote to the Chancellor last night, but the UK Government said devolved governments are getting the certainty they had requested.
The UK Government must urgently reintroduce the furlough scheme so that Scotland can take protective measures against the omicron variant whilst protecting jobs, according to Scottish Greens MSP Lorna Slater.
The funding is needed to support workers and businesses already suffering due to a significant loss in trade and closures caused by local outbreaks, as well as allowing devolved governments to take public safety measures to stop the spread of the new strain of the virus.
Without economic support, the options available to the Scottish and Welsh governments and Northern Irish Executive are more limited.
Scottish Greens Lothian MSP Lorna Slater said:“The UK Government has taken an utterly chaotic approach to COVID, with confusing messages undermined by the Prime Minister himself failing to follow the rules. Omicron is spreading fast and the UK Government must recognise the clear risks to vulnerable people and act decisively.
“The festive period is already disrupted, with many people cancelling plans for gatherings, and hospitality businesses and communities across Lothian are struggling. People need to be supported.
“In Scotland we are taking the steps to reduce the impact of the virus. Now it’s time for the UK Government to act responsibly and do the right thing by reintroducing furlough where it is needed.”
“Self-employed people could be particularly impacted this Christmas, so it’s vital those who missed out last time are included in the scheme, and that sick pay is enhanced to make it easier for people to self-isolate.”
The terms of reference and a chair for the public inquiry into the handling of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland have been announced.
In a statement to Parliament yesterday, Deputy First Minister John Swinney confirmed that the Hon. Lady Poole QC, Senator of the College of Justice of Scotland, will chair the inquiry.
Mr Swinney also published the terms of reference for the inquiry covering 12 areas of investigation, each covering a strategic element of the handling of the pandemic, to identify lessons to be learned and recommendations as soon as practicable.
The terms of reference were informed by public engagement and are subject to a period of reflection by the chair, who will be able to suggest adjustments, which may include taking the remit of the UK-wide COVID-19 inquiry into account.
The period covered by the inquiry will be from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022, but it will also consider pandemic planning undertaken prior to this.
The chair will now begin the process of appointing staff so the inquiry can begin considering evidence without delay.
Mr Swinney said: “Today, I am announcing the establishment of a statutory inquiry under the Inquiries Act to examine the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.
“I am grateful to everyone who has shared their views on what the inquiry should look into, in particular bereaved families and those who have lost friends and colleagues. Their input has been key in developing the inquiry’s terms of reference.
“From my own and the First Minister’s interactions with Lady Poole, I am in no doubt that she has the necessary leadership skills, integrity and deep technical knowledge to undertake this inquiry. Her expertise in administrative and human rights law is exactly in line with our expectations of a human rights-based approach to the inquiry.
“We are committed to working with the UK Government to develop the approach to the UK-wide inquiry and expect the chair of the Scottish public inquiry to coordinate with the chair of the UK-wide inquiry.”
Lady Poole said: “I am honoured to chair this independent public inquiry examining the strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland. We have all been affected by this pandemic.
“There has been a major impact on every aspect of all our lives. The death of so many as a result of COVID-19 is a tragedy, and others have suffered in many different ways.
“The inquiry will work independently to establish the facts in an open and transparent way in order to determine what lessons can be learned for the future. There is a great deal to be done in a short space of time. I will continue to give considerable thought as to how best to conduct the inquiry to ensure it fully achieves its aims, including a careful and thorough examination of the terms of reference.
“My immediate focus will be on getting the right people in place to support me and establishing the necessary systems, processes and information flows needed to allow the inquiry to function efficiently and deliver as quickly as possible. Work has already begun on this.
“It is too early to be any more specific about how the inquiry will carry out its functions, other than to say that the arrangements for providing both written and oral evidence will be set out in due course once the initial establishment phase is completed. A bespoke website will be created, to provide information and publish updates as the inquiry progresses.
“I look forward to collaborating with my counterpart on the UK COVID-19 inquiry once that inquiry is established.”
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition,an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, has raised concerns over an increase in the number of pupils identified with additional support needs (ASN) against a backdrop of declining support.
It has also voiced similar concerns over a declining number of those with ASN receiving Co-ordinated Support Plans (CSPs), the only education plans that are legal documents. This is despite a Scottish Government promise there would be no decline in the numbers of those receiving them.
The figures show that the number of pupils with additional support needs (ASN), such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems in 2021 has reached a record high of 232,753. Of this total 58.0 per cent are boys. This represents 33.0 per cent of the pupil population, rising from 118,034 in 2012, and is a near doubling (97.2 per cent) in numbers from that year.2
The SCSC has also raised concerns at the number of those receiving a CSP.
This is a legal document, the only education plans that are legal documents, requiring services such as education, health and social work to work together to give a child or young person the support they need.
It provides some guarantees of entitlement to additional resources and legal redress, placing statutory duties on local authorities to review and ensure the provisions contained within it are being met.
Despite a Scottish Government promise that there would be no reduction in the proportion of pupils receiving them since their introduction in 2004, there has been a significant fall in the number of pupils with CSPs, from 3,448 in 2012 to 1,420 in 2021, amounting to a drop of 58.9 per cent (publicly funded primary, secondary and special schools). This is a reduction from 2.9 per cent to 0.6 per cent of those with ASN.
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “While it is promising that this increase tells us that more young people with ASN are being identified, it is against a worrying background of damaging cuts to services.
“Ensuring the adequate provision of educational support for children and young people with ASN is critical, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and the damaging impact this will have on them
“We have major concerns over a lack of resources and specialist staff to support these children and young people. This clearly has an impact not only on the individuals concerned but also on their peers and teachers.
“It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need, which is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap, as we know that those with ASN are disproportionately drawn from poorer neighbourhoods.
“We are also concerned that we are experiencing a decline in the use of CSPs, which are designed to support those with the most complex needs. This is despite an increase in the numbers of those requiring such support
“As we recover from COVID-19, the Scottish Government and local authorities, along with the private and third sectors, need to work together to provide the necessary resourcing and support to address the needs of these vulnerable children and young people. It must also work with local authorities to ensure that those who require a CSP get it, making parents and carers aware of their legal rights.”
The EIS has also commented on today’s publication of National Improvement Framework (NIF) data, saying that the data confirms the need for greater investment to support education recovery for Scotland’s young people.
The data released today simply confirms what the EIS has been saying for the past year, which teachers have understood instinctively – that the Covid created disruption to learning has affected all pupils to some degree but has disproportionately impacted on children from the most deprived backgrounds.
It is noticeable, also, that children with additional support needs have been impacted in a similar manner – 42% achieving Literacy levels against a national figure of 76% and in Numeracy 53% against a figure of 83%.
Given that more than 1 in 4 pupils in our mainstream schools have additional needs this is an area of significant concern, which the EIS believes the Scottish Government is failing to tackle with sufficient targeted investment.
Commenting on the data, EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “We didn’t need publication of this data to know that children from the poorest backgrounds and those with additional support needs were the ones suffering most from the pandemic.
“Schools have prioritised, quite rightly, the well-being of pupils but as we start to look at education recovery from the pattern of disrupted learning, the Scottish Government needs to up its game in terms of investment in our children’s future.
“Recent OECD research (OECD Education at a Glance 2021), for example, has shown that smaller class sizes where there are patterns of multiple deprivation or additional needs help individual pupil recovery but the Scottish Government continues to resist making any progress in this area.
“The Government’s education recovery plan was far too timid in its ambition given the scale of the impact of Covid on the most disadvantaged young people. The simple fact is that pupil recovery will be delayed and diminished if much greater resource isn’t made available to schools.”
Treasury figures published today show breakdown of the record £41 billion per year settlement for the Scottish Government
Scottish Government receives £126 per person of Barnett-based funding for every £100 per person of equivalent UK Government spending in England and Wales
Figures reaffirm UK Government’s commitment to levelling up across the whole of the UK
Figures released today by the Treasury set out how the UK Government will provide a record level of funding to the Scottish Government over the next three years – worth £41 billion a year.
The Block Grant Transparency publication provides a detailed breakdown of the funding settlements announced for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at Spending Review 2021.
The £41 billion annual funding settlement is the largest, in real terms, since devolution more than 20 years ago. It ensures that the Scottish Government are well-funded to improve public services such as education, housing, health and social care, and will support the UK Government’s mission to level up the UK and build back better and greener from the pandemic.
In addition to Block Grant funding, the UK Government is also making direct investments in Scotland, such as committing more than £170 million through the Levelling Up Fund and the Community Ownership Fund, which will help to improve local infrastructure, regenerate town centres, and could even help to buy your local pub or community sports club.
Scotland will also benefit from cuts to Air Passenger Duty to improve connectivity and support jobs at Scottish airports.
UK Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Clarke said:“We’re committed to ensuring Scotland receives its fair share, and the latest Spending Review has provided a record £41 billion a year to the Scottish Government.
“This is funding substantial additional spending on key public services – as set out in last week’s Scottish Budget.
“We’ve also ensured people in Scotland have been supported throughout the pandemic, and the UK Government’s schemes have supported around one in three Scottish jobs. Now we’ll continue to work with the Scottish Government as we progress our recovery.”
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said:“Funding for the Scottish Government is the highest it has ever been, at a record £41 billion a year.
“The block grant settlement comes on top of significant direct UK Government investment in Scotland. We are committed to levelling up right across the UK, and are working with the Scottish Government and local councils to improve communities the length and breadth of Scotland.
“We recently announced a £191 million boost for Scottish community projects, on top of the £1.5 billion we are investing in City Deals in Scotland.
“For almost two years, the UK Government has been focused on protecting people’s lives, livelihoods and jobs. We will continue to tackle the pandemic while building a brighter future with a strong economy for people in every part of the UK.”
At Budget 2017, the Treasury committed to publish an annual Block Grant Transparency publication after each UK Government Budget to show a breakdown of changes to the devolved administrations’ block grant funding.
This report is intended to support greater transparency and accessibility to the people of Scotland as to how the UK Government provides funding to the Scottish Government
As Omicron continues to spread, the Scottish Government is setting out new guidance and measures to take effect from midnight on Friday to stem the flow of transmission, keep businesses and services open, and protect against pressure on health services.
Evidence shows that the new, highly transmissible Omicron strain of COVID-19 can infect those who have been vaccinated, or previously infected, so it is considered necessary to reintroduce some protections to prevent hospital admissions.
Guidance has been updated on reducing social interaction at home or in indoor public places to a maximum of three households at any time, with everyone encouraged to take a lateral flow test before meeting.
This will also be reflected in updated guidance for visiting care homes – with no more than two households to visit a resident at a time – and in hospitals, with no more than two visitors at any time. In all settings, people should take a lateral flow test before meeting, to support people to continue to connect with their loved ones.
Additional funding of £100 million to ensure the Self-Isolation Support Grant is available to those who need it, and a £100 million financial package for eligible businesses is to be made available.
Business support funding has been allocated to enhance adherence to the necessary public health measures and support businesses in hospitality ,and food supply and in the culture sector that have lost crucial bookings during this key trading period.
The Finance Secretary will be engaging with affected sectors immediately to consult on and confirm the details of support and money will be available as soon as possible.
The COVID-19 booster programme continues to accelerate, with the online portal for 18-29 year-olds opening on Wednesday 15 December and the waiting period following vaccination reduced from 15 minutes to five minutes. COVID-19 booster jabs will be prioritised over the remainder of the flu vaccination programme to speed up vaccination times and enable more appointments.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Getting fully vaccinated is the best thing any of us can do to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and the country. So please, book your booster jag as soon as possible. Speeding up vaccination is essential and I want to assure the nation that it is the government’s top priority.
“While we are speeding up vaccination, we must also try to slow down Omicron. That is why we are also proposing today, albeit reluctantly, some further protective measures. I am appealing to everyone to follow today’s advice, to help slow Omicron down while more of us get our boosters.
“I am not asking anyone to ‘cancel’ Christmas – but in the run up to and in the immediate aftermath of Christmas, I am asking everyone to reduce as far as possible, and to a minimum, the contacts we have with people in other households.
“We are not banning or restricting household mixing in law as before – we understand the negative impact this has on mental health and wellbeing – but we are asking everyone, and we will issue strong guidance to this effect, to cut down as far as possible the number of people outside our own households that we are interacting with just now. This will help break transmission chains.
“Turning to Christmas Day specifically – or Christmas Eve or Boxing Day or whenever you have your main family celebration – we are not asking you to cancel or change your plans, and we are not proposing limits on the size of household gatherings. Places of worship will also remain open, with appropriate mitigations. But we will issue guidance to help you make Christmas safer.
“Omicron will be especially concerning to people on the Highest Risk List – the Chief Medical Officer will be writing to all of you shortly with further advice and assurance.”
Further guidance on additional measures announced by the First Minister will be published by the end of the week. These include:
Businesses, service providers and places of worship asked to take all reasonable measures to avoid crowding, encourage wearing of masks and support distancing in their premises
This will include guidance to ensure that people who can work from home, do so – for those in sectors where working from home is not possible, regular testing with lateral flow tests should be undertaken
Reinforcement of protective measures in retail and other settings including distancing, managing customer flows, and protective screens
Reinforcement of protective measures in hospitality settings including collection of contact tracing information and measures to reduce crowding
Guidance to increase mask wearing in outdoor crowded areas such as Christmas markets or festive celebrations
The Scottish Government’s strong recommendation continues to be that everyone should take a lateral flow test beforehand, on any occasion that you will be meeting another household, as an important way we can all reduce the risk of unknowingly spreading the virus to other people.
It remains vitally important to strictly adhere to all public health advice, being stringent around use of face coverings in all required settings, isolating for the full period when advised to, and ensuring good ventilation in spaces where households will mix.
Online portal extended and changes to flu delivery
A range of measures are being introduced to speed up the COVID-19 booster programme, and give protection against the spreading Omicron variant.
The online booking portal will be open to everyone aged 18-29 from 10am this morning, allowing this age group to book booster appointments through the NHS Inform website.
Appointments are being added to the online portal daily and COVID-19 vaccination capacity is being increased over the festive period.
In order to increase the number of appointments, there will also be a prioritisation of booster vaccines over the remainder of the flu programme. This means anyone who is under the age of 65, or not in one of the high risk groups, will receive their COVID-19 booster only. This group will instead be able to get their flu vaccine in the New Year.
In line with advice from the four UK Chief Medical Officers, and in order to improve the flow of people through vaccination centres, people will no longer have to wait 15 minutes after receiving an MRNA vaccine. Instead, in Scotland the programme clinical governance group has recommended there is an observation period of five minutes, reflecting guidance from the Resuscitation Council.
Also, all NHS board areas are working to increase the availability of drop-in clinics – with a particular focus on the over 40s – and to identify larger sites that can be brought online in the coming weeks.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “The most important thing we can all do to protect ourselves and others from COVID-19 is to get our vaccinations and boosters when eligible. The vaccines we have are highly effective and safe and I urge anyone who is eligible and not yet vaccinated to book an appointment.
“There is a massive national effort underway to ensure that all adults will be able to book a booster appointment before the end of the year. The steps announced by the First Minister today – which are proportionate and based on clinical advice – will help us towards that goal.
“Scotland already has the highest vaccination rate of all UK nations for first, second and third doses and we continue to follow clinical advice from the JCVI on offering booster jags through age cohorts in descending order to ensure maximum benefit.
“Demand for boosters may mean you may have to wait in a queue at drop-in centres but we urge everyone to be patient. We have plenty of supplies and are working with Health Boards to maximise vaccination capacity as quickly and safely as we possibly can.
“The emergence of the Omicron variant means it is also particularly important that we continue to take all precautions to prevent transmission. So test regularly for the virus, particularly before socialising and meeting up with others from outside your household, wear face marks where required and open windows to improve ventilation.”
To use the online portal, individuals will need their unique vaccination username which can be found on any previous appointment letter.
Additional funding from the UK reserve will be made available to the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to progress their vaccine rollout and wider health response, the UK Government has confirmed today.
While the devolved administrations are well-funded to continue their response to Covid-19, and have their own reserves and contingency funds, any additional in-year Barnett funding will not be confirmed until early 2022 through the Supplementary Estimates process.
HM Treasury has therefore announced that additional funding will be made available to the devolved administrations to provide greater certainty and allow them to plan as they tackle Covid-19 during the crucial weeks ahead.
HM Treasury will set this amount of additional funding in the coming days and will keep it under review in the following weeks.
The UK Government has already provided the devolved administrations with an extra £12.6 billion through the Barnett formula this year – this includes £1.3 billion confirmed at the recent Autumn Budget and takes their total funding this year to £77.6 billion.
This is on top of UK Government spending on vaccines and tests for the whole of the UK and UK-wide support for businesses and jobs.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said:“Throughout this pandemic, the United Kingdom has stood together as one family, and we will continue to do so.
“We are working with the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to drive the vaccine rollout to all corners of the United Kingdom and ensure people and businesses all across the country are supported.”
If the amount of funding provided up front to each devolved administration is more than the Barnett consequentials confirmed at Supplementary Estimates then any extra amount will be repaid in 2022-23, or over the Spending Review period if necessary.
If the Barnett consequentials are higher than the amount provided up front the devolved administrations will keep the extra funding.
The news was released as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was updating MSPs on the latest coronavirus restrictions.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: First Minister’s statement to Scottish Parliament – 14 December 2021
Thank you Presiding Officer, I will give a general update on COVID today, and share the latest information we have on the Omicron variant. I will also set out the further protective measures we consider necessary to help slow its spread while we accelerate the pace of booster vaccines.
Firstly, though, today’s overall statistics.
3,177 positive cases were reported yesterday – 11.3% of all tests carried out.
The number of PCR tests yesterday was actually slightly lower than in recent days, and I therefore want to appeal to people not to put off going for a PCR test if you have symptoms or a positive lateral flow. I know no-one wants to test positive or isolate at Christmas – but testing is a really vital part of our defence and there is no shortage of capacity. So, please do get tested.
541 people are in hospital with COVID – 20 fewer than yesterday.
But I can also confirm that we now know of two confirmed Omicron cases who are in hospital. Sequencing of other possible cases continues, and the actual total is likely to be higher.
38 people are in intensive care with COVID generally, which is one fewer than yesterday.
Sadly, a further six deaths have been reported, taking the total number of deaths under the daily definition to 9,725.
And I want again to send my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one.
Presiding Officer
On Omicron specifically, our assessment is that it is spreading very rapidly.
The best indicator of this is the proportion of cases showing what is called the S Gene dropout.
For about 95% of all cases in Scotland, tests are currently processed in a way that allows us to know if the S gene is present or not.
This shows that Omicron cases are increasing exponentially – faster than any variant that has gone before.
When I made a statement to Parliament last week, around 4% of cases showed the S Gene drop out. By Wednesday it was 7%, on Friday it was above 15%.
Today, it is 27.5%
We estimate that the doubling time is two to three days – more rapid than anything experienced in the pandemic so far.
And we expect Omicron to become the dominant strain circulating in Scotland within days.
This matters because Omicron is significantly more transmissible than Delta.
The R number associated with Delta is around 1.
But the R number for Omicron appears to be well over 2 and it is possibly above 4.
Cases in Scotland in total have increased by a quarter in the past week.
They have risen in all age groups, except the over 85s. Omicron is already contributing to that increase.
But as it becomes the dominant strain, its much higher R number will also dominate, and that will drive a much steeper increase in cases.
That is why I warned on Friday that we are facing a likely tsunami of cases in the weeks ahead.
Now some are suggesting that Omicron may be milder in its impact on individual health than Delta.
Obviously, we all hope that is the case.
However, we don’t know it yet. Indeed, there is some initial evidence from Denmark that may suggest otherwise.
But even if it does prove to be milder, simple arithmetic means the challenge it poses will still be very significant.
Let me illustrate that.
In recent months, the proportion of Delta cases needing hospital care has been around 2%.
That means an average daily case number of around 2,700 – as has been the case in recent weeks – will result in around 400 hospital admissions a week.
But if cases rise significantly to, say, 10,000 a day because of Omicron’s greater transmissibility – and this is well within the modelled estimates in the evidence paper we published on Friday – then even if the hospitalization rate turned out to be half that of Delta’s at just 1%, we would see 700 hospital admissions a week.
The basic and very fact is this: a much more transmissible infection – even if milder in terms of severe illness – can still place a much bigger burden on the NHS.
More people infected will result in more severe illness and, tragically, more people will die.
A surging level of infection will also result in many more people being off work due to mild illness and isolation – so the impact on the economy and our ability to deliver critical services will also be severe. Indeed, we are starting to see these impacts already.
All of this explains why we must take Omicron extremely seriously. This is not a choice between protecting health and protecting the economy.
So let me turn to what, in the government’s judgment, we need to do now to mitigate this challenge.
In doing so, I ask everyone to think again in terms of a race between the virus and the vaccines.
Our vaccination programme is running fast – we are currently the most vaccinated part of the UK.
46% of the over 12 population have had booster jags already.
However, just as vaccines started to win this race, the virus learned to run faster.
That means we must deliver boosters even faster.
This is all the more important in light of early data telling us that the protection we have against Omicron infection with just one or two doses is significantly lower than it is for Delta – we need a booster jag to ensure a substantial level of protection against Omicron.
So we are taking steps now to get boosters into arms much faster.
Getting fully vaccinated is the best thing any of us can do to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and the country. So please, book your booster jag as soon as possible.
Speeding up vaccination is essential and I want to assure the nation today that it is the government’s top priority.
I will shortly set out more detail on exactly how we are going about doing it.
But while this is necessary, our judgment is that in the short term it will not be sufficient.
While we are speeding up vaccination, we must also try to slow down Omicron.
That is why we are also proposing today, albeit very reluctantly, some further protective measures. I am appealing to everyone to follow today’s advice, to help slow Omicron down while more of us do get our boosters.
Let me clear, we do not do this lightly.
I know how hard it is.
Please believe me when I say I would not be asking for yet more sacrifice if I did not genuinely consider this to be necessary in the face of a threat that is very real.
So let me set out now what is being asked.
Firstly, we want to keep businesses open but to help achieve this we are asking them to step up the protections in place in their premises.
We intend to amend regulations to put a legal requirement on those running businesses or providing services to take measures which are reasonably practicable to minimise the risk of transmission.
We will issue guidance this week to make clear what that means for different sectors.
For example in retail, it will involve a return to the kind of protections in place at the start of the pandemic – for example measures to avoid crowding and bottlenecks.
This will include physical distancing, measures to control the flow of customers and protective screens.
For hospitality, it will mean, for example, measures to avoid crowding at bars and between tables, and a reminder of the requirement to collect contact details of customers to help with contact tracing.
For employers more generally, the guidance will make clear that enabling staff who were working from home at the start of the pandemic to do so again is now a legal duty.
I am hugely grateful to employers who are already allowing staff to work at home where possible, but we are not yet maximizing the impact of home working to reduce the overall number of contacts we are having.
We recognise of course that there are people who cannot work from home – for example those who work in manufacturing, hospitality and key public services.
We are asking anyone in this position to test regularly before going to work.
We have extended the workplace testing scheme, which delivers lateral flow kits twice a week to all businesses who have signed up to it. I would encourage, urge indeed, any business with 10 or more employees to join up, and encourage staff to test regularly.
We will also be reinforcing the rules and public health messaging on the importance of wearing face coverings, and wearing them properly.
Presiding Officer, My hardest request today is of the general public.
I want to be clear, I am not asking anyone to ‘cancel’ Christmas – but in the run-up to and in the immediate aftermath of Christmas, I am asking everyone to reduce as far as possible, and to a minimum, the contacts we have with people in other households. I will say more about Christmas Day in a moment.
We are not banning or restricting household mixing in law as before. We understand the negative impact this has on mental health and wellbeing.
But we are asking everyone – and we will issue strong guidance to this effect – to cut down as far as possible the number of people outside our own households that we are interacting with just now.
This will help break transmission chains.
So my key request today is this – before and immediately after Christmas, please minimise your social mixing with other households as much as you can.
To help protect yourself and others, we're asking everyone to minimise mixing with other households.
If you do socialise, we strongly advise you keep to a maximum of 3 households at any one time.
However, if you do plan on socialising – either at home or in indoor public places – we are asking that you limit the number of households represented in your group to a maximum of three. And make sure you test before you go.
I know this is a tough thing to ask people to do, especially at this time of year. So I want to be clear why we are making this request.
One of the things we have already learned about Omicron is that it has a very high attack rate.
That means if just one person in a gathering is infectious, that person is likely to infect many more people in the group than is the case with the Delta variant.
So by reducing the numbers of people and households gathering together, we help limit the extent of its spread.
Turning to Christmas Day specifically – or Christmas Eve or Boxing Day or whenever you have your main family celebration – we are not asking you to cancel or change your plans, and we are not proposing limits on the size of household gatherings.
Places of worship will also remain open, with appropriate mitigations.
But we will issue guidance to help you make Christmas safer.
Reducing your contacts in advance of and after Christmas as I have just strongly advised will help do this.
Keeping your celebrations as small as your family circumstances allow is sensible too.
Make sure everyone in your gathering is vaccinated and has done a test in advance.
Keep rooms ventilated and follow strict hygiene rules.
Presiding Officer, I know how much I am asking of everyone today, after a difficult and painful two years.
I would not be doing so if I did not believe it to be absolutely necessary.
Indeed, it could be argued that we should be going further – which is why I need to also explain a significant limitation on our ability to act in the way we think necessary to protect public health.
In this context, I am not seeking to make a political point – simply to set out the factual position.
Many of the protections that help curtail COVID come at a financial cost to individuals and businesses – so wherever we can, we put in place financial packages to protect people’s health, jobs and livelihoods.
However, the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments do not have the ability to borrow to meet the COVID funding challenge.
UK funding arrangements mean we rely on the Treasury to do so on our behalf. And the Treasury has responded well throughout this pandemic.
And although Scottish taxpayers foot our share of the bill, money only flows to the devolved governments when the UK government makes decisions.
Financial support is not triggered if the devolved governments take decisions we consider appropriate for public health reasons – even though it is our responsibility to do so.
So because the UK government is at this stage not proposing any further protections – a position I do not agree with – there is no funding generated to compensate businesses for any protections we think are necessary and wish to put in place. (NOTE: SEE BELOW – Ed.)
That is not acceptable in current circumstances and, with the Welsh and Northern Irish governments, we are pressing for a fairer approach that takes account of our devolved responsibilities for protecting public health.
But for now, this is the situation we are in, and it means our public health response is curtailed by lack of finance.
There are further steps we could and would have considered today – particularly around hospitality – had we the financial ability to do so. But we don’t.
However, I can confirm that with some considerable difficulty, we have managed to identify within our own resources around £100 million that we will use to help businesses, mainly those in hospitality and food supply, and in the culture sector, affected by our advice last week on work Xmas parties and further affected by what I have said today.
The Finance Secretary and her officials will be engaging with affected sectors immediately to consult on and confirm the details of support.
We will work to make money available as soon as possible. Businesses who previously received support through the Strategic Framework Business Fund will be contacted directly.
We have also identified an additional £100 million to ensure the Self Isolation Support Grant is available for those who need it, given the expected increase in the number of eligible people who will be asked to isolate.
Making this money available will involve difficult reprioritisation – but we recognise the importance of providing as much help as we possibly can.
However, this is the limit of what we are able to do within our own resources. I know it does not go far enough in compensating businesses for what we are asking of them now – and, of course, no government can rule out having to go further in the weeks ahead. So we are continuing to press the UK government to increase support to enable us to respond adequately to the public health challenge in the weeks ahead.
Presiding Officer, I will turn now to our actions to speed up delivery of booster vaccinations.
Anyone aged between 40 and 60 who hasn’t already booked an appointment, has now received an invitation to do so.
In addition, since yesterday, all 30 to 39 year olds have been able to book their booster jags online.
And I can confirm today that 18 to 29 year olds will be able to book online from tomorrow.
Our aim is that by 31 December everyone over 18 will have been able to book a booster appointment.
It is not possible to guarantee that absolutely everyone over 18 will have been vaccinated by 31 December. For a variety of reasons, some appointments will run into the new year.
For example, some people will not be eligible by the end of December because it will still be less than 12 weeks since their second dose. Some people have not yet come forward for a first or second dose and despite our best efforts, some will not come forward to book a booster either.
In addition, despite the strenuous work underway, we know that some capacity challenges between now and the end of the year are inevitable – for example, vaccinator staff absences due to COVID.
However, notwithstanding all of that, we are aiming to reach as close as possible to 80% uptake by the end of December, with the balance of appointments taking place in January.
I do not underestimate the challenge of this. Vaccination teams are already making a herculean effort and we are asking a great deal of them.
In addition, reaching that level of uptake depends on people continuing to come forward to get jags even over the holiday period.
So, this will not be easy – we know that – but we are working on the basis that the higher we aim, the further we will get.
Let me now therefore set out the steps we are taking to create the additional capacity needed.
Firstly, given its vital importance against Omicron, we will prioritise the COVID booster programme over the remainder of the flu vaccination programme for the next few weeks. This will allow many more booster appointments to be made available.
Let me stress, though – and this has informed our clinical advice – that for those in the highest risk groups for flu uptake of the vaccine this year is already high – for over 65 year olds, it is 88%, which is higher than last year.
Secondly, and in line with advice from the UK Chief Medical Officers, the requirement for people to wait in a vaccine centre for 15 minutes after they receive an mRNA vaccine is being removed. This will speed up vaccination times and enable many more appointments.
Thirdly, health boards are working to offer additional drop-in capacity within local centres.
Additional venues for vaccination are also being identified. This will include mass vaccination centres in areas where this is considered appropriate.
In terms of human resources, we plan to extend the number and role of volunteers, to ensure that clinical staff can spend as much time as possible supporting the administration of vaccines.
We will continue to expand the size of the overall vaccination workforce as much as possible and make full use of any military support that is available.
We will, of course Presiding Officer, keep parliament updated on the delivery of these plans.
However, at this stage, I want to again thank everyone working so hard to design and deliver the biggest and most important logistical project in our peacetime history.
Let me also stress that, while the focus of my statement today is on boosters, if you haven’t had your first dose yet, please do book it now. It is more important than ever to do so.
In the new year, we will also complete second doses for 12 to 17 year olds.
And I hope, very much hope, that we might also, soon, get regulatory approval to offer vaccination to under 12s.
Presiding Officer, Before I close today, there are some further issues that I want to highlight.
Firstly, let me reiterate the changed advice on self isolation. For now, household contacts of a person who tests positive for COVID, are being advised to self-isolate for 10 days. This advice applies to everyone in a household regardless of age, vaccination status or PCR test result.
Businesses and organisations providing vital services can apply for an exemption to allow essential workers to return to work, subject to them being symptom free and taking certain precautions, including daily lateral flow tests.
Second, beyond this advice, we are not recommending that entire school classes are required to isolate when a pupil tests positive. The advice on school isolation will continue to be risk-based.
More generally, a key aim is to ensure that schools stay open if at all possible to minimise further disruption to education.
However, it is vital that schools are safe for pupils and staff.
To help achieve this, we continue to ask secondary school pupils and all staff to take lateral flow tests regularly – including during holidays and before returning after the break – and to wear face coverings.
In addition the Advisory Subgroup on Education is meeting today to provide further advice on how schools can operate safely in the new year. We will send this advice to schools by the end of this week.
Thirdly, we will continue to consider appropriate protective measures for people in institutional settings – such as care homes – while ensuring that visits can continue.
Last week we recommended that care staff take lateral flow tests on a daily basis.
We are also now recommending that individual visits in care homes should not involve any more than two households visiting any patient at a time. And we are asking anyone visiting a care home to test before every visit.
For hospitals, we are recommending that no more than two people visit a patient at any one time. And again, we are recommending a lateral flow test before each visit.
Finally Presiding Officer, I fully understand that Omicron will be especially concerning to people on the Highest Risk List. I therefore want to give an assarance to all of you that the Chief Medical Officer will be writing to all of you shortly with further advice and assurance.
Presiding Officer,It is an understatement to say this is not the update I wanted to be giving just a few days before Christmas.
And I am painfully aware that it’s not an update anyone wanted to hear.
However, we have a duty to take decisions – no matter how difficult or unpopular – that will get us through this as safely as possible.
I will not shy away from that responsibility.
The fact that I am asking for further sacrifice today underlines how severe we think the risk posed by Omicron might be.
So please do follow the advice I have set out today.
And while this is, without doubt, a very difficult juncture in the course of the pandemic, please remember that vaccination does still put us in a better position than last year.
Also, hard and wearying though this is, we are not powerless in the face of the virus.
We know the steps we can take to slow it down.
So I will stress again what we need to do:
Firstly, please get fully vaccinated as soon as possible.
Secondly, please test regularly.
If you are going to meet other people – and our advice, remember, is to minimise this as much as possible – take a lateral flow test before you go, every time.
The tests are easy to take and, despite an issue with online ordering yesterday, they are easy to get hold of. Tests can be collected from local pharmacies and testing centres without a booking, and the online portal is open again today.
Wear face coverings on public transport, in shops, and when moving about in hospitality settings. And make sure your face covering fully covers your mouth and nose.
Keep windows open if meeting people indoors – even at this time of year.
Follow all advice on hygiene.
Work from home whenever possible – this will soon become a requirement anchored in law.
And please follow the new advice I have outlined today.
Although it is guidance, please do not think of it as optional.
Cut down unnecessary contacts as much as possible. In the run up to and immediately after Christmas, please avoid socialising with people in other households as much as you can.
If you are socialising indoors at home or in public places, limit the number of households represented in your group to a maximum of three. And test before you go.
And please follow the advice we will give to keep Christmas Day as normal but as safe as possible.
We do face an extremely difficult period ahead – I cannot tell you otherwise. But I know we will get through it more safely, if we do right by each other, as we have done all along.
So please – get vaccinated, test regularly, and follow all the other rules and guidance that are in place for our own protection.
Let’s pull together again, and let’s help each other through.
BREAKING NEWS:
HM Treasury has announced that additional funding from the UK reserve will be made available to the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to progress their vaccine rollout and wider health response.
The news was announced while First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was addressing MSPs at Holyrood this afternoon.
Fines for flytipping could be more than doubled as part of proposals being consulted on.
The consultation on a new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy proposes a range of measures to prevent litter and flytipping, improve data and strengthen enforcement.
This includes raising fines for flytipping from £200 to £500 – the maximum permitted by current legislation. The consultation also asks if they should be raised beyond this cap.
The introduction of a sustained national behaviour change campaign is also being proposed, aimed at breaking the cycle of littering and flytipping. This would be supported by new research, looking at why people continue to litter.
Launching the consultation, Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater said: “We want a Scotland that is free of the blight of litter and flytipping. That’s why we’re asking for views on a bold set of measures that could help make our streets, parks and public spaces free of rubbish.
“Litter and flytipping are not just a blight on local communities – they also cost millions of pounds every year in clean-up costs. We need to send a clear message that this behaviour will not be tolerated.
“We also need to understand why anti-litter measures are still not reaching some people. To address that, we are proposing not just a one off campaign, but a sustained push, backed by new research into why people litter.
“We also want to make better use of data to clamp down on illegal dumping. By understanding more about where and when flytipping takes place, we can be more effective in targeting interventions to stop it.”
Proposals include the increased and improved use of data to locate and target litter and flytipping hotspots. The creation of a national flytipping forum, chaired by the Circular Economy Minister, will also bring together key stakeholders in Scotland to discuss how to implement the new strategy and share best practice and insights relating to tackling flytipping.
Chief Executive Officer of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Terry A’Hearn, said: “Fly-tipping is not only immoral, it is illegal and waste crime poses a risk not only to human health and the environment, but also to urban and rural businesses, and communities.
“Waste dumped illegally in laybys, rural locations or holes in the ground, instead of being disposed of in the correct manner, means criminals are avoiding having to pay the costs a legal operator has to pay.
“Tackling waste crime is a priority for SEPA, and the information collected from this consultation could mean better sharing and co-ordination of flytipping data between us and partners, helping us manage our responses better.”
Chief Executive Officer of Zero Waste Scotland, Iain Gulland, said: “Litter and flytipping are illegal, dangerous, and entirely avoidable. In fact, half of all litter could have been recycled.
“The impact is more than the staggering clean-up costs – recklessly dumping items is damaging to our wildlife and communities. But despite tremendous efforts, it’s still a national issue.
“To tackle it, we need new ideas, new approaches and new collaborations, which is why Zero Waste Scotland implores everyone to take part in this public consultation.”
