Extra money for mental health, education and tackling poverty
Retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation businesses will pay no rates during 2021-22 under proposals outlined yesterday.
It is one of a series of measures proposed by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes following confirmation of a further £1.1 billion of consequential funding arising from UK Government coronavirus (COVID-19) spending.
The move builds on the three month rates relief extension announced in the Scottish Budget and will be taken forward provided the Scottish Government receives the funding already assumed from the UK Budget on 3 March, and that requisite funds are available to maintain existing support into 2021-22.
Newspapers will also continue to benefit from 100% relief for a further 12 months, while charitable rates relief will not be removed from mainstream independent schools until 1 April 2022 due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
Other extra spending in 2021-22 arising from the latest consequentials includes:
£120 million for mental health
£120 million for affordable housing
£100 million to support people on low incomes
£60 million for schools to help pupils catch-up on missed education
£60 million for NHS recovery
£45 million for heat decarbonisation, energy efficiency and fuel poverty
£21.5 million for Scottish Enterprise
Separately, local authorities will receive an extra £275 million in the current financial year to address COVID-19 pressures, while a further £40 million is being made available to support the safe reopening of schools.
Ms Forbes said: “When I presented our budget last month I guaranteed to extend non-domestic rates relief further if I was given the necessary resources. I can now deliver on that promise, providing the UK Budget in March delivers the funding we require.
“The other measures I am proposing today, including further support for hospitals, schools and local government and measures to tackle climate change, build on our priorities to ensure a robust recovery for our economy and public services.
“This welcome additional consequential funding was confirmed to us yesterday and I wanted give early notice to parliament and provide clarity to businesses.
“We are still in the throes of a national emergency and it is important Parliament works together to respond. I will continue to work with all parties to help deliver a budget for the nation fit for these times.”
Responding to the Scottish Government’s announcement, CAMRA’s Scotland Director Joe Crawford said: “Extending the business rates holiday for another 12 months is some welcome news for our struggling pubs and gives licensees much needed certainty that they won’t have to find money to pay rates bills this summer.
“But our pubs and clubs will continue to need additional, dedicated financial support in the weeks and months ahead to see them through to the other side of this crisis.
“That’s why CAMRA is urging the Chancellor to use the upcoming Budget to help pubs thrive – by continuing the VAT reduction and extending it to alcohol so traditional locals that don’t serve food can benefit too and keeping furlough as long as trading restrictions are in place – even if that is for longer than it is in England.
“CAMRA also wants to see a lower rate of duty on beer served on tap in pubs and clubs to help encourage people back to their local when they reopen, and level the playing field with supermarkets.”
Collision course with COSLA over National Care Service?
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has accepted the findings of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care, and the Scottish Government is already working to implement key recommendations.
Ms Freeman told Parliament yesterday that Derek Feeley’s Independent Review, commissioned five months ago in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was an “important opportunity” to be bold in reshaping how social care is planned, funded and delivered.
Speaking in a debate on the review, Ms Freeman set out a number of immediate measures in response, including a new £20 million Community Living Change Fund to redesign services for people with complex needs including intellectual disabilities and autism, and for people who have enduring mental health problems.
This will address some of the issues raised by the 2018 Coming Home report, about the need to avoid out of area placements and delayed discharge for people with learning disabilities and complex needs.
She said she accepted the principle of introducing a National Care Service but would continue to talk to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) about how to address its concerns.
The Scottish Government is working to implement other measures recommended by Derek Feeley’s report. These include:
work with local partners to end charging for non-residential care
developing minimum standards for terms and conditions in the social care sector, to help organisations meet fair work principles by the end of May
work to ensure there is no delay in the annual Real Living Wage uplift for Adult Social Care workers
Ms Freeman said: “The independent review of social care gives us a clear roadmap for the future of care provision in Scotland and we believe in the recommendations in this report.
“There is immediate action that can be taken now to secure improvement. I am pleased to announce a new Community Living Change Fund of £20 million to deliver a redesign of services for people with complex needs including intellectual disabilities and autism, and those who have enduring mental health problems. We will work with local partners as quickly as practicable to end all charges for non-residential care.
“The report also recognises and highlights the critical and invaluable support that the social care workforce provide to people all over Scotland. We are looking to establish a new sector-level body to ensure an effective voice for the whole of the social care workforce to enable them to respond to local conditions and address matters of importance, and support an effective collective bargaining role in the sector.
“As a priority, we will work with our stakeholders to agree a national approach to implementing the real living wage for Adult Social Care workers – for 2021 and in future years.
“We want to move from a competitive market to collaboration and ethical approaches to commissioning and procurement to help embed fair work principles and improve the consistency of services.
“The National Care Home Contract should also embed changes which drive the Fair Work Agenda and I have asked that for the first time Union representatives should be party to the discussions on this contract.
“I understand the concern expressed by COSLA on the issue of accountability. Local government is a critical partner in taking forward the radical change the Review rightly calls for and I support. We need to work together to find the best way to secure the Review’s recommendations and the spirit of its intent.
“I believe, as the report sets out, that improving adult social care gives us an important opportunity – to improve people’s lives, to build our economy, and to invest in high-quality, fair work.
“This is just beginning of a process for improvement. It is now up to us to ensure a social care system that consistently delivers high quality services across Scotland – a system that is founded in fairness, equality, and human rights, and that puts lived experience at the heart of its redesign and delivery.”
Council Leaders have already rejected the idea of a Scottish Care Service.
Speaking following the launch of the Feeley report on 11 February, Councillor Stuart Currie, COSLA’s Health and Social Care Spokesperson, said: “There was real and unanimous opposition to the recommendations on governance and accountability which would see the removal of local democratic accountability and a degree of centralisation, which Leaders rightly felt would be detrimental to the local delivery of social care and its integration with other key community services.
“They (council leaders) also felt that given the level of funding set out in the Review, Local Government would be well placed to deliver the human-rights based approach outlined at pace, whilst ensuring local democratic accountability remains front and centre of social care.”
Council leaders will consider a detailed report on the proposals and the Scottish Government’s response at the end of this month.
The Scottish Government acted quickly to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed by Covid-19, but it could have been better prepared to respond to the pandemic, according to a new report from Audit Scotland.
Staff across the NHS and Scottish Government took early action during the first wave in 2020, including increasing intensive care capacity and pausing non-urgent treatment. Service innovation, such as a huge rise in video consultations, also happened within weeks and it is important these are learned from.
However, there is now a substantial backlog of patients, with NHS boards prioritising those in most urgent need. It will be hard to deal with this backlog alongside the financial and operational challenges already faced by boards.
The Scottish Government based its initial response to Covid-19 on the 2011 UK flu pandemic preparedness strategy. Scotland took part in three pandemic preparedness exercises in the years before the coronavirus outbreak.
But not all the actions identified in these exercises were fully implemented.
These included measures to ensure access to enough PPE and to quickly address social care capacity, both of which became significant issues during the first wave of Covid-19.
Covid-19 has caused or contributed to the deaths of around 9,000 people in Scotland so far. People from the most deprived areas, of South Asian origin, or of Caribbean or Black ethnicity are among those who have suffered disproportionately from the pandemic. Deaths from other causes were also higher than average at the start of the pandemic.
Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: NHS staff have shown extraordinary commitment to treating and caring for Scotland’s people during a pandemic that has highlighted the need to deal with long-standing health inequalities.
“Getting the full range of health services back up and running will be challenging. But there are clear lessons to be learned from the pandemic, both in how the country could have been better prepared and in the innovation that we’ve seen. It’s essential that these advances are now retained and built upon.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today confirmed that only strictly limited numbers of children and young people will return to classrooms next week, backed by strengthened school safety guidance and an enhanced testing for staff and senior pupils.
Very limited numbers of S4 – S6 pupils who require to complete practical work in order to achieve an SQA certificate will also return from Monday. Pupils currently in classrooms – primarily the children of key workers and those considered vulnerable – will retain their places.
As part of the move, Ministers announced a package of support and safety steps including:
A further £40 million to help councils implement safety mitigations aligned with clinical advice
£60m of additional investment in education recovery, including employing more teachers, classroom support staff and facilities management
Twice weekly at-home testing to be offered to people who work in schools, early learning and childcare settings attached to schools, and senior phase pupils. Comprehensive testing guidance has been issued to schools and local authorities, and by the start of this week, more than 2,200 schools had received test kits, with deliveries to remaining schools continuing throughout the rest of this week. The programme will be expanded to stand alone childcare settings as soon as possible thereafter
All secondary pupils will be required to observe two metre physical distancing while in school and on school transport in the period immediately after the return. This is in addition to existing measures including the use of face coverings
Ministers also confirmed hopes that further detail on the next phase of school return could be provided on 2 March.
Ms Sturgeon said: “In terms of the order in which we exit lockdown, the Scottish Government has always made clear that education should be the priority. I can confirm today that, in line with the advice of our expert group, this first phase of the re-opening of schools will go ahead as planned on Monday.
“We will need to monitor the impact of this change very carefully before taking any further decisions. However, I hope we will be able to set out the second phase of school re-opening in two weeks’ time. I want to be clear, though, that the need to properly assess the impact of this limited re-opening means we do not envisage, at this stage, any further return to school before 15 March.
“As we consider these issues, we are of course doing everything we can to ensure that schools are as safe as possible for children, and for the education workforce. We are also publishing today updated school safety guidance, developed with the Education Recovery Group. This sets out a range of additional safety mitigations.
“And to help implement them, we will be providing local authorities and schools with an additional £40 million, as part of a wider £100 million package to accelerate school recovery. The Finance Secretary will confirm details later this afternoon. The success of this limited re-opening, and the prospect of getting more pupils back later in March, very much depends on all of us continuing to abide by the wider restrictions.
“So, for now – and I really cannot emphasise this point strongly enough – please treat Monday’s important milestone as a return to education for children only, and not as a return to greater normality for the rest of us.”
A further update is being published today on this year’s national qualifications. National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams 2021 have been replaced by an alternative certification model based on teachers’ judgement of evidence of each individual pupil’s attainment. The National Qualifications Group 2021 has agreed to extend the deadline for submitting provisional grades from 18 June to 25 June.
In recognition of the additional workload this will bring, teachers and lecturers involved in the delivery, assessment and moderation of National 5, Higher and Advanced Highers will receive an exceptional one-off payment of £400. There will also be two assessment support days available for all secondary teachers to give them extra time to engage with the alternative certification model.
The EIS has responded to the First Minister’s announcement on the return to school for nursery children, P1-P3 pupils and some senior phase secondary pupils and warned that significant concerns over school safety remain to be addressed.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “Everyone is supportive of face-to-face teaching returning as soon as possible – that should not override safety concerns, however, and teachers will be understandably nervous around today’s announcement.
“Community infection levels have fallen but still remain high in areas such as North Lanarkshire and at 6% the test positivity rate in Scotland remains above the level that the World Health Organisation recommends as indicative of the virus being under control.”
Mr Flanagan continued, “Against this backdrop, the EIS continues to believe that a blended learning model, with around half of pupils in classes at any one time to allow for physical distancing, would have provided a more cautious and more appropriate basis for pupils returning to schools.”
Mr Flanagan added, “Teachers remain concerned about the increased transmissibility of new Covid variants of the virus, especially aerosol transmission, and it is disappointing that the Scottish Government has not supported the introduction of medical grade face masks for staff, as they offer greater protection for wearers than simple face coverings.”
“It should reconsider its stance as a matter of urgency. We would also expect that staff with increased vulnerabilities will be advised to continue to work from home during this first phase.”
Mr Flanagan continued, “The introduction of twice weekly testing for staff and senior pupils is welcome, as is the requirement for senior pupils to physically distance.
“Looking forward, however, to any fuller return of pupils it is clear that the prioritisation of teachers and other school staff for vaccination remains a straightforward way to ensure in-school safety.
“If having schools open is a priority for the Scottish Government, then protecting school staff should also be a priority.
“Whilst Scottish Government timelines can appear to be self-fulfilling prophecies, there will need to be a meticulous analysis of this first phase and its impact, before any further return is progressed.”
Welcoming today’s news that some children will be returning to school, Mary Glasgow Children 1st Chief Executive said: “Schools must make space for friendships, feelings and fun as they start to reopen to more children from next Monday.
“It’s clear from Children 1st’s survey of over 1700 parents across Scotland that supporting children to cope with the emotional and social impact of lockdown is just as important as helping them catch up with their schoolwork.
“Focusing on children’s wellbeing as schools return was the clear first choice for 58% of parents, compared to 22% who said the top priority should be learning. If we support children with their wellbeing now, their academic learning will follow.”
Cllr Ian Perry, Education, Children and Families Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: This is the news many families across the city were waiting for and it’s great that they now have confirmation their children will be back in school next week.
“There’s very good home learning involving our young people, teaching staff and parents taking place but everyone knows there’s no better place for children than being back in school with their peers and learning face to face.
“For all other pupils home learning will continue and we hope we can welcome more pupils back in school soon as long as the virus continues to be suppressed. It’s really important we all continue to follow the guidance especially now pupils are back at school so parents are advised not to gather at school gates at drop off and pick up times. We all have to work together to help protect the NHS and save lives.”
Cllr Alison Dickie, Education, Children and Families Vice Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “I’m delighted that our youngest pupils will be able to return to their schools and nurseries next week as these are really challenging times for many families.
“It’s so important for their learning and development that children are back in school where they belong. And very much for their mental health too. Our schools have been working hard preparing for their return and teaching staff are really looking forward to welcoming them back.
“We will make sure our schools continue to be safe learning and teaching environments for all our young people and staff by following the latest health advice. We very much want to see more pupils back in our schools as soon as it is safe to do so and the Scottish Government will make a further announcement on the phased return of pupils in two weeks time.”
GMB Scotland is urging all MSPs to support its campaign for a £15 an hour minimum wage for care workers.
In a letter to political party leaders ahead of a Scottish Parliamentary debate on the Independent Review of Adult Social Care this afternoon (Tuesday 16 February), the union calls on MSPs to grasp “a once in a generation opportunity to transform social care” by underpinning reforms with “proper value for the workers who will deliver it.”
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport Jeane Freeman MSP will lead the debate for the Scottish Government and recommend the incoming Scottish parliament should implement the findings of the Independent Review “as quickly as practicable”, with opposition MSPs lining-up to back GMB’s pay increase plan for the sector.
The union’s ‘Fight for Fifteen’ campaign was launched following the publication of its sector report, ‘Show You Care: Voices from the frontline of Scotland’s broken social care sector’, which highlighted the significant challenges facing care workers before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
GMB Scotland’s Women’s Campaign Unit Organiser Rhea Wolfson said:“The recommendations of the independent review are a once in a generation opportunity to transform social care, but only if they are underpinned by proper value for the workers who will deliver them.
“The report is clear that every £1 spent on social care generates £2 for the wider economy, so if government and industry invest properly in this sector and its people, the effects could be transformative not just for workers and service users, but for society too.
“COVID-19 has exposed how poorly our care workers have been valued, a workforce of mainly low-paid and often exploited women who found themselves on the frontline of a crisis without proper safety or support.
“We owe them a huge debt and if we really want to put care on an equal footing with the NHS as the Cabinet Secretary suggests, then we have to back that up with the investment to match.
“Now is the time to be bold and today Holyrood can rise to the challenge. That’s why we are urging MSPs to stand with our members in care and support their campaign to fight for fifteen.”
Covid-19 still a major threat to call centre workers’ health
Workers call for more action to protect staff
Covid-19 still presents a major threat to contact centre workers and action needs to be taken to protect them, according to a letter from the STUC to the Scottish Government.
The letter is a response to the work of the Scottish Government’s Working Group for Contact Centres and urges them to audit Scottish call centres and ensure employers are following guidelines and revising risk assessments.
The letter comes after new variants of the disease have been confirmed and a major outbreak in DVLA Swansea confirms the danger presented in large workplaces. The letter argues that the conditions in sealed buildings with mechanical heating and ventilation systems magnify the problem.
The letter has the backing of Call Centre Collective- a trade union-backed grassroots organisation formed in response to the pandemic- who have organised a petition in support.
Craig Anderson from Call Centre Collective said: “The Scottish Government needs to listen and take active steps to protect workers. We know there are some employers cutting corners and taking unnecessary risks with the safety of their staff.
“It would be unforgivable, after seeing what happened in Swansea, if no lessons are learned from it. We urge anyone who with an interest in protecting workers to sign our petition supporting the STUC’s letter and keep up the pressure.”
Roz Foyer, STUC General Secretary, added, “Throughout this pandemic one of the largest sources of complaints to unions and MSPs has been from call centre workers.
“The new evidence on transmission and the risks inherent with new variants makes it absolutely essential that we see action now.”
More than 77,000 Scottish Child Payment applications have been received since Social Security Scotland started taking applications on 9 November. The new benefit, which is unique to Scotland, will give qualifying parents and carers £40 every four weeks for each child under six.
The benefit starts today, meaning that Social Security Scotland is now able to do final eligibility checks and start issuing decisions. The first decisions and payments will arrive from later this month.
Payments for those who applied today or earlier will be backdated. Parents and carers have not yet applied and have a child under six are encouraged to apply today to get the maximum amount of money they are entitled to.
People who apply after today will have their payment calculated from the day that they apply.
Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “This is a fantastic response to our new payment. Today marks the day that parents and carers will become eligible for Scottish Child Payment.
“We’ve had a great response and this is a very large number of applications. It will take time to work through these applications and I’d like to ask families for their patience while we work as quickly as we can to process these.
“The Scottish Child Payment is the most ambitious anti-poverty measure currently being undertaken anywhere in the UK. Announced in late June 2019 the new payment has been achieved at great speed.
“In 2021-22 we will invest £3.6 billion in social security payments supporting carers, young people, and low income families including £68 million for this new payment. Significantly more families are now relying on benefits due to the pandemic – some perhaps for the first time. Scottish Child Payment will help lift children in Scotland out of poverty.
“We are proactively promoting this payment and we have written to everyone on the Universal Credit and HMRC tax credit databases who may be eligible to invite them to apply. .
“Covid-19 restrictions continue to put additional pressure on parents and carers and I recognise how busy families are. But I’d like to take this opportunity to encourage anyone who hasn’t yet applied, to take ten minutes to get their application in – it’s vital that people get the money they are entitled to.”
Scottish Child Payment has been introduced ahead of schedule for children under six by building on the existing infrastructure for Best Start Grant payments. The payment is planned to be fully rolled out to children under the age of 16 by the end of 2022. This is subject to data on qualifying benefits being received from the DWP to enable Social Security Scotland to make top-up payments.
Applications for additional support open this week
Two funds, worth £1 million each, will open this week to support grassroots, community and residential organisations to improve drugs services.
A £1 million Grassroots Fund will provide resources to third sector organisations to enable them to increase capacity and provide further reach into the community. Eligible organisations must have an annual income under £1 million and can apply for grants up to £50,000.
A £1 million Improvement Fund will support service development and increases to capacity across residential and community services. It will consider applications for grants up to £100,000.
The funding is part of the £5 million support package announced by the First Minister last month to ensure immediate action on addressing Scotland’s drug deaths emergency before the end of this financial year.
Minister for Drugs Policy Angela Constance said: “I am delighted to support grassroots and third sector organisations to extend their services.
“The Grassroots Fund will help organisations working on the frontline that do vital and invaluable work. They often exist on shoestring budgets and this extra funding can help provide more security so they can stabilise or increase capacity and extend services to provide further reach into the community for people who experience problem drug use and their families.
“The Improvement Fund will help us get more people into treatment. We know the number of individuals who drop out of support and treatment services is too high. This funding will support activities which lead to quick access to treatment and support for families. It can also be used for residential rehabilitation and collaborative approaches which help people address all the underlying challenges that they face.
“A national mission is needed – those whose life is blighted by drugs are our relatives, our friends, our neighbours. Our vision is for a culture of change: a culture of compassion devoid of stigma in which people are given a real chance of recovery.”
The Corra Foundation will administer both funds. Both will open to bids on 18 February 2021. All allocations will be made before 31 March 2021.
Bird keepers in Scotland are reminded to maximise biosecurity and keep their flocks housed after avian influenza (H5N1) was confirmed in a flock of approximately 14,000 mixed gamebirds on a gamebird rearing premises in Leven, Glenrothes.
Laboratory results of samples taken from the flock have identified the strain as highly pathogenic in poultry. In order to limit the further spread of disease, appropriate restrictions have been imposed on the premises.
A Protection Zone (PZ) of 3 km and a Surveillance Zone (SZ) of 10 km have now been put in place around the infected premises to limit the risk of spread of the disease. Within these zones a range of controls are in place, including restrictions on the movement of poultry, carcasses, eggs, used poultry litter and manure.
Legislation for the H5N1 strain require a Restricted Zone (RZ) to also be declared. However, this RZ will also be 10 km and will have the same extent as the PZ and SZ, with no additional measures.
Public health advice remains that the risk to human health from the virus is very low and food standards bodies advise that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers, and it does not affect the consumption of poultry products including eggs.
Producers and bird keepers are reminded to comply with the order to house birds that came in to effect on the 14 December 2020, or ensure they are kept separate from wild birds and follow biosecurity procedures.
Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment Ben Macpherson said: “Following this confirmation I have put in place controls required under domestic and EU legislation that will help control any further spread of the disease in the surrounding area.
“We ask that the public remain vigilant and report any findings of dead wild birds. People should not handle the birds. ”
Scotland’s Chief Veterinary Officer Sheila Voas said: “This highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza (H5N1) has been confirmed on a farm of approximately 14,000 mixed gamebirds with high mortality in the last few days. All remaining birds are being humanely culled for disease control purposes.
“It is vital that keepers take steps to improve their biosecurity and protect their birds from disease. Keepers who are concerned about the health or welfare of their flock should seek veterinary advice immediately. Your private vet, or your local Animal and Plant Health Agency office, will also be able to practical provide advice on keeping your birds safe from infection.”
A total of 144,128 COVID Winter Hardship Payments have been made to families across Scotland.
The payments are available to families with children receiving Free School Meals on the basis of low income, with £14.41 million given to households as part of the Scottish Government’s Winter Plan for Social Protection.
A one-off payment of £100 was made by local authorities for each eligible child in receipt of Free School Meals between 30 November and the start of the winter holidays.
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “We know that many families are struggling financially due to the pandemic, whether through lost earnings, increased food costs or simply needing to run their heating more. This additional payment will hopefully have helped ease the strain they are facing.
“We have now provided over £50 million in additional funding to local authorities to continue the provision of Free School Meals during school closures, periods of online learning and holidays from the summer, and we are committed to do so through the forthcoming Easter holidays.
“The provision of Free School Meals outside of term time and the £100 payment are just two of the ways we’re working to support people and communities. We have invested over £500 million to mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic, which includes a £22 million increase to our Scottish Welfare Fund and considerable investment in support provided by community and third sector organisations.
“With our Scottish Child Payment also due to start next week, we are showing our commitment to tackling poverty and inequality through this pandemic and beyond.”
The £100 million Winter Plan for Social Protection was developed to mitigate social harms posed by the concurrent risks of COVID-19, winter cost of living increases and EU exit, as well as to promote equality and human rights.
Families are eligible for their children to receive Free School Meals, on the basis of low income, if they receive certain benefits or their local council considers they are facing financial hardship.
Funding for Free School Meals has been provided as follows:
April – June 2020: £15 million – remote learning
July – Sept 2020: £12.6 million – summer holidays
Oct 2020 – March 2021: £6.95 million – Oct, Christmas and Feb holidays
Jan 2021: £7.057 million – remote learning
Feb 2021: £5.841 million – remote learning
April 2021: £4.29 million – Easter holidays
This funding has enabled local authorities to ensure that every eligible child has continued to receive a free school meal alternative – direct payment, voucher or food parcel – throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
