Payment introduced to protect people when challenging benefit decisions
People challenging disability benefit decisions will be able to claim a new Short Term Assistance payment under Scotland’s new social security system.
Short Term Assistance will mean people continue to receive the amount of money they were getting before the decision was made to lower or stop their payment.
To ensure people are not put off seeking an appeal or re-determination, they will not have to repay Short Term Assistance if the re-determination or appeal upholds the decision to lower or stop their social security payment.
This is a first for benefit delivery in the UK and it will be introduced alongside Child Disability Payment, the Scottish Government’s replacement for Disability Living Allowance for Children.
Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “People’s lives are complex and making benefit decisions, which take into consideration a whole range of unique circumstances, is difficult.
“Social Security Scotland will gather as much information as we can, working with the applicant, the wider public sector and health and social care professionals to make the right decision first time. However, we know that we won’t always get it right and where we don’t, we want people to feel able to challenge us to look again.
“This is why we are introducing Short Term Assistance. We know that it can be difficult for people who rely on disability assistance when their payment has been reduced or stopped. The decision to ask for a re-determination or appeal can be daunting. This new payment will give people the confidence to ask us to look again and to go to appeal if they feel they need to, ensuring they get everything they may be entitled while working through this process.
“We hope to drastically reduce the need for people to go through the re-determination and appeal process under our new system by getting the decisions right first time. Where we don’t get it right though, we will give people who rely on this service the opportunity to right this wrong, without being penalised.”
Additional funding of up to £11 million is being given to the Scottish Ambulance Service to help improve capacity and resilience this winter.
Up to £10.5 million will be used to put 148 new staff in place across the country before the end of the year. It will also provide 24 extra vehicles for the service in Scotland, including 8 ambulances which will be stationed in Glasgow and Lothian – two of the busiest areas.
The funding will also help reduce the need for staff to be on stand-by in some of the more rural areas, with £500,000 being used to ensure priority stations including Aviemore, Golspie and Oban have crews available 24/7.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “Our ambulance staff continue to work extremely hard under difficult circumstances which are being experienced across our healthcare services. I am extremely grateful for their dedication and commitment.
“This additional investment will allow the Scottish Ambulance Service to put additional capacity in place in two of the busiest areas in the country, as well as supporting staff in some of the more rural areas through increases in staffing and reduction of requirement for staff to work on-call shifts.
“We continue to support the service and ensure they have the right resources in place across Scotland to continue to deal with increasing demand.”
Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service Pauline Howie said: “This £11 million funding is fantastic news and will allow us to boost capacity in two of the busiest regions in Scotland through investment in new staff, new ambulances and new specialist vehicles.
“It will also allow us to support staff in some of our more rural areas though increased staffing and a reduction in on-call shift working.
“This winter is expected to see increased demand on healthcare services across the country and our top priority continues to be our patients and staff.
“These additional resources will ensure we continue to deliver the very best patient care to communities while supporting our fantastic staff who have been doing an amazing job each day in the most challenging of circumstances.
“We continue to recruit at pace across the country to strengthen our dedicated workforce – a workforce who have all been remarkable this year.”
With the NHS weeks from being overwhelmed, and a higher death toll than the first wave predicted without new restrictions, the Prime Minister, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Scientific Advisor, and Cabinet agreed there was no alternative to tougher national measures.
The Prime Minister will update Parliament on Monday, and MPs are set to vote on the measures on Wednesday. This follows a Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister earlier today.
He said that no one wants to impose these kinds of measures, but no responsible Prime Minister could ignore the evidence presented.
He also said that, whilst Christmas will inevitably be different this year, tough action now could mean families may be able to be together.
Belgium, France, Germany and other countries have already put in place national restrictions, following earlier local measures.
From Thursday 5 November, everyone in England must stay at home, and may leave only for a limited set of reasons. These include:
For education;
For work, if you cannot work from home;
For exercise and recreation outdoors, with your household, support bubble or on your own with one person from another household;
For all medical reasons, appointments and to escape injury or harm;
To shop for food and essentials;
And to provide care for vulnerable people, or as a volunteer.
A full set of exemptions will be set out in law.
Single-adult households will still be able to form an exclusive support bubble with one other household, and children can move between homes if their parents are separated.
Non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment venues will be closed. Click and collect services can continue and essential shops, including supermarkets, will remain open, so there is no need for anyone to stockpile.
Pubs, bars, restaurants must close, except for takeaway and delivery services.
People should work from home wherever possible. Workplaces should stay open where people cannot work from home – for example, in the construction or manufacturing sectors.
Shielding as practised in the spring will not currently be reintroduced. The clinically vulnerable, or those over the age of 60, should be especially careful to follow the rules and minimise contacts with others. Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable should not only minimise their contacts with others, but also not go to work if they are unable to work from home.
There is no exemption for staying away from home on holiday. This means people cannot travel internationally or within the UK, unless for work, education or other legally permitted exemptions. Overnight stays away from primary residences will not be allowed, except for specific exceptions including for work.
Inbound international travel will continue to be governed by the travel corridor approach, and those currently on a domestic holiday will be allowed to finish their holidays, but are still subject to the requirements in England not to go out without a reasonable excuse.
Public services, such as job centres, courts, and civil registration offices will remain open.
There is no exemption for communal worship in places of worship (except funerals and individual prayer), organised team sports, or children’s activities.
Elite sport will be allowed to continue behind closed doors as currently.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, known as the furlough scheme, will remain open until December, with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500. The cost for employers of retaining workers will be reduced compared to the current scheme, which ended on Saturday.
As the Prime Minister and Education Secretary have said, keeping young people in education is a national priority so early years settings, schools, colleges and universities will all remain open. Parents and carers should make sure their children keep attending school. However, universities and adult learning providers should consider increasing online provision where possible.
Parents will still be able to access registered childcare and other childcare activities where reasonably necessary to enable parents to work. Parents are also able to form a childcare bubble with another household for the purposes of informal childcare, where the child is 13 or under.
Ministers are also clear that it is vital to keep the provision for non-Covid healthcare needs going. Unless clinicians tell patients otherwise, they should continue to use the NHS, get scans and other tests, turn up for all appointments and collect medicines and treatments.
Ministers have done everything in their power to avoid another national lockdown.
The natural rate of R is around 3, meaning local restrictions have helped slow the spread of the virus, whilst NHS Test and Trace is testing more than any other country in Europe.
But the R rate is still above 1, meaning infections, hospitalisations and deaths continue to double, and the virus is now a national problem.
On present trends, in the South West, where incidence is low for example, it is clear they would run out of hospital capacity in a matter of weeks unless we act.
Whilst work is underway to boost capacity, including preparing the Nightingales, it is impossible to create extra bed space, and recruit extra doctors and nurses, at the rate necessary to outpace the virus.
Prime Minister’s statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 31 October 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a statement at the coronavirus press conference
Good evening and apologies for disturbing your Saturday evening with more news of Covid and I can assure you I wouldn’t do it unless it was absolutely necessary.
First I will hand over to Chris and then Patrick who will present the latest data.
Thank you very much Patrick, and Chris. I am afraid that no responsible PM can ignore the message of those figures.
When I told you two weeks ago that we were pursuing a local and a regional approach to tackling this virus, I believed then and I still believe passionately that it was the right thing to do.
Because we know the cost of these restrictions, the damage they do, the impact on jobs, and on livelihoods, and on people’s mental health.
No one wants to be imposing these kinds of measures anywhere.
We didn’t want to be shutting businesses, pubs and restaurants in one part of the country, where incidence was very low, when the vast bulk of infections were taking place elsewhere.
Our hope was that by strong local action, strong local leadership, we could get the rates of infection down where the disease was surging, and address the problem thereby across the whole country.
And I want to thank the millions of people who have been putting up with these restrictions in their areas for so long. I want to thank local leaders who have stepped up and local communities.
Because as you can see from some of those charts, the R has been kept lower than it would otherwise have been, and there are signs that your work has been paying off
And we will continue as far as we possibly can to adopt a pragmatic and local approach in the months ahead
But as we’ve also seen from those charts, we’ve got to be humble in the face of nature
And in this country alas as across much of Europe the virus is spreading even faster than the reasonable worst case scenario of our scientific advisers
Whose models as you’ve just seen now suggest that unless we act we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand a day
A peak of mortality alas far bigger than the one we saw in April
Even in the South West, where incidence was so low, and still is so low, it is now clear that current projections mean they will run out of hospital capacity in a matter of weeks unless we act.
And let me explain why the overrunning of the NHS would be a medical and moral disaster beyond the raw loss of life
Because the huge exponential growth in the number of patients – by no means all of them elderly, by the way – would mean that doctors and nurses would be forced to choose which patients to treat
Who would get oxygen and who wouldn’t
Who would live and who would die,
And doctors and nurses would be forced to choose between saving covid patients and non-covid patients
And the sheer weight of covid demand would mean depriving tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of non-covid patients of the care they need
It is crucial to grasp this that the general threat to public health comes not from focusing too much on covid, but from not focusing enough, from failing to get it under control
And if we let the lines on those graphs grow in the way they could and in the way they’re projected to grow, then the risk is that for the first time in our lives, the NHS will not be there for us and for our families
And even if I could now double capacity overnight – and obviously I am proud that we have massively increased capacity, we do have the Nightingales, we’ve got 13,000 more nurses now than last year, we have many more doctors – but it still would not be enough, because the virus is doubling faster than we could conceivably add capacity
And so now is the time to take action because there is no alternative. From Thursday until the start of December, you must stay at home.
You may only leave home for specific reasons, including:
For education; For work, say if you cannot work from home; For exercise and recreation outdoors, with your household or on your own with one person from another household; For medical reasons, appointments and to escape injury or harm; To shop for food and essentials; And to provide care for vulnerable people, or as a volunteer.
I’m afraid non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment venues will all be closed – though click and collect services can continue and essential shops will remain open, so there is no need to stock up.
Pubs, bars, restaurants must close except for takeaway and delivery services.
Workplaces should stay open where people can’t work from home – for example in the construction or manufacturing sectors.
Single adult households can still form exclusive support bubbles with one other household, and children will still be able to move between homes if their parents are separated.
If you are clinically vulnerable, or over the age of 60, you should be especially careful to follow the rules and minimise your contacts with others.
I know how tough shielding was, and we will not ask people to shield again in the same way again. However we are asking those who are clinically extremely vulnerable to minimise their contact with others, and not to go to work if they are unable to work from home.
I am under no illusions about how difficult this will be for businesses which have already had to endure hardship this year. I am truly, truly sorry for that.
This is why we are also going to extend the furlough system through November. The furlough scheme was a success in the spring. It supported people and businesses in a critical time. We will not end it. We will extend it until December.
There will be some differences compared to March.
These measures above all will be time-limited, starting next Thursday 5 November. They will end on Wednesday 2 December, when we will seek to ease restrictions, going back into the tiered system on a local and regional basis according to the latest data and trends.
Christmas is going to be different this year, very different, but it is my sincere hope and belief that by taking tough action now, we can allow families across the country to be together.
My priority, our priority, remains keeping people in education – so childcare, early years settings, schools, colleges and universities will all remain open. Our senior clinicians still advise that school is the best place for children to be.
We cannot let this virus damage our children’s futures even more than it has already. I urge parents to continue taking their children to school and I am extremely grateful to teachers across the country for their dedication in enabling schools to remain open.
And it is vital that we will keep provision for non-Covid healthcare groups going.
So please – this is really important – unless your clinicians tell you otherwise, you should continue to use the NHS, get your scans, turn up for your appointments and pick up your treatments. If at all possible, we want you to continue to access these services, now and through the winter. Indeed it’s only by taking this action that we can protect the NHS for you.
On Monday I will set out our plans to parliament. On Wednesday, parliament will debate and vote on these measures which, if passed, will as I say come into force on Thursday.
We have updated the devolved administrations on the action we are taking in England and stand ready to work with them on plans for Christmas and beyond.
We should remember we are not alone in what we’re going through. Our friends in Belgium, France and Germany have had to take very similar action.
So as we come together now to fight this second wave, I want to say something about the way ahead
Because people will reasonably ask when will this all end
And as I have said before I am optimistic that this will feel very different and better by the spring
It is not just that we have ever better medicine and therapies, and the realistic hope of a vaccine in the first quarter of next year
We now have the immediate prospect of using many millions of cheap, reliable and above all rapid turnaround tests
Tests that you can use yourself to tell whether or not you are infectious and get the result within ten to 15 minutes
And we know from trial across the country in schools and hospitals that we can use these tests not just to locate infectious people but to drive down the disease
And so over the next few days and weeks, we plan a steady but massive expansion in the deployment of these quick turnaround tests
Applying them in an ever-growing number of situations
From helping women to have their partners with them in labour wards when they’re giving birth to testing whole towns and even whole cities
The army has been brought in to work on the logistics and the programme will begin in a matter of days
Working with local communities, local government, public health directors and organisations of all kinds to help people discover whether or not they are infectious, and then immediately to get them to self-isolate and to stop the spread
And I can tell you tonight that the scientists may be unanimously gloomy about the immediate options
But they are unanimously optimistic about the medium and the long term future
We will get through this – but we must act now to contain this autumn surge
We are not going back to the full-scale lockdown of March and April
It is less prohibitive and less restrictive
But from Thursday the basic message is the same: Stay at home. Protect the NHS. And save lives.
HOW WILL THIS AFFECT SCOTLAND?
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted last night:
She added:
2. @scotgov will take considered decisions based on what is right for Scotland. A key point for us – which we hope to clarify ASAP – is whether extended furlough support is available only in November or flexibly for devolved admins. That could have an impact on our decisions.
Address to the nation following the confirmation of local authority protection levels – Thursday 29 October:
Firstly, a heartfelt thank you to all of you for the sacrifices you’ve made, as we’ve faced this Covid challenge together.
For some of you, these sacrifices have been compounded by the loss of a loved one, serious illness, or worry about your job and paying the bills.
This has been difficult for everyone, but truly awful for many. No words can make that better.
And I am sorry to again ask for more.
But Covid is still with us. And it is still dangerous.
Europe is now firmly in the grip of a second wave. Some countries, including France and Germany, are back in full lockdown.
Here in Scotland, we see rising cases, more people in hospital and, tragically, more lives being lost.
But we also have grounds for cautious hope.
The difficult restrictions introduced a few weeks ago to limit household visits and hospitality are slowing the rate of increase.
Restrictions are still necessary, but this slowdown is allowing us to act in a more targeted way.
Today I confirmed the different levels of protection that will apply, from Monday, to different parts of the country, depending on the levels of infection.
Detailed information about the level in your area is available on the Scottish Government website. And from Monday a postcode checker will let you find out exactly what the rules are in your area at any given time.
These levels will be reviewed weekly.
But I want to emphasise two restrictions which, for now, apply everywhere.
The first is household mixing.
It remains the case – in all parts of Scotland – that we should not meet up in each other’s homes. That is incredibly hard for all of us. But household mixing – especially indoors – is one of the biggest risks of transmission.
And secondly travel.
A regional approach to restrictions will only be sustainable if we don’t spread the virus from high to lower prevalence areas.
So if you live in a level 3 area, you should only leave your own local authority for essential purposes, such as work, education or caring responsibilities.
And if you live in a level 1 or level 2 area, do not travel to a level 3 area, except for the same essential purposes.
These restrictions are tough but please believe me when I say they are still necessary.
Of course, I wish I could tell you when things will return to normal.
I can’t do that yet. I can only be straight with you.
And given the challenge we face, I cannot guarantee that we won’t have to return to the highest level of restrictions across the whole country.
But I do know the best way for us to avoid that – and I hope secure some degree of Christmas cheer – is to keep abiding by all the rules and guidance. I know that because it is starting to work already.
Doing that – as it has always been – is fundamentally an act of solidarity, compassion and love.
It is how we make each other safer, protect our NHS, and save lives.
This all gets so much harder after seven months and as winter and Christmas approach. I know that. I feel that.
But we need to dig deep. And we need to stick with it.We will get through this. Let’s keep doing it together – and for each other. Thank you.
Today FM @NicolaSturgeon confirmed which #coronavirus protection levels will apply across Scotland from 6am on Monday 2 November.
Gran returns with a clear message for young drivers on country roads
The Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland have launched a new #DriveSmart campaign targeting young male drivers (20-29) urging them to prepare for the unexpected and slow down on country roads.
The campaign features the return of the cheeky straight-talking Gran character, who was a central feature of a number of highly-successful campaigns over the past year.
Inappropriate speed leading to loss of control is the biggest cause of deaths on country roads. The campaign launch includes a humorous and thought-provoking video, highlighting speed and other potential hazards on country roads that can turn even a familiar journey into a potentially fatal one.
Gran appears from a young man’s crashed car to give him the appropriate dressing down following a lucky escape.
Country roads account for 60% of casualties on Scotland’s roads with latest figures highlighting that over 700 people were killed or seriously-injured while driving on them in 2018 (the last year for which figures are available).
Two-thirds of those killed were menwith 40% of all drivers killed or seriously injured on country roads aged between 22 and 49.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson said: “Sadly, country roads continue to make a significant contribution to both deaths and serious injuries in Scotland, so we must continue to raise awareness of the potential dangers faced by drivers travelling on them.
“This new campaign strikes just the right balance of humour while delivering an incredibly important message, so it is sure to stick in the minds of our target audience of young male drivers.
“Country roads are notoriously unpredictable and, with so many potential distractions both within and outside the car, it’s absolutely crucial drivers prepare for the unexpected and slow down when travelling on them – no matter how well they think they know the route. We’ve had great success using Gran to deliver these messages, so we’re pleased to welcome her back for this campaign too.”
Rolling out from this week, the highly-targeted advertising campaign will run across a number of relevant channels for the audience including TV and catch up TV, cinema, digital and audio/radio platforms.
Online ads will feature on a variety of websites and social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube. The world of gaming will also be targeted with adverts appearing within games such as Grid and Football Manager. Adverts will also run across Spotify and around podcasts.
View the film at https://youtu.be/mDk-Bin3Iuc and get involved with the conversation on Facebook (Road Safety Scotland) and Twitter @RoadSafetyScot, #DriveSmart
Extra money for more than 14,000 disabled children
Families of disabled children will receive a new heating benefit by Christmas.
The Child Winter Heating Assistance is a new £200 payment to help families of a child on the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance for Children to heat their homes. There are more than 14,000 children expected to be eligible.
Payments will arrive with people from Friday 27 November and these are expected to be complete by Friday 11 December.
People do not need to apply for this payment. It will be made automatically by Social Security Scotland using information provided by the Department for Work and Pensions. Families will get a letter in advance to confirm that they will be getting this payment.
This is the first form of disability assistance to be introduced by the Scottish Government using its new social security powers.
Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People, Shirley Anne Somerville said: “As the nights draw in and the temperature starts to drop we will all be conscious of the extra cost to heat our homes. For families of the most seriously disabled children and young people, who may need to heat their homes for longer periods, this can bring even more pressure in what is already a challenging circumstance.
“I am so pleased that we have been able to introduce this payment before Christmas, ensuring people will have this money ahead of the coldest of the winter months. I hope this helps these families plan their finances and that they can turn the heating on without as much worry about how they are going to afford it.
“I am delighted that despite the impact of COVID-19, we’ve been able to move forward with three new benefits this year – Job Start Payment, Scottish Child Payment and now Child Winter Heating Assistance. This is the first disability assistance that we will deliver using our new social security powers.
“We are continuing to work with delivery partners to review the timeline for introduction of our remaining benefits and we will do everything we can to start these as soon as we can practically and safely do so.”
Background
a client will qualify for Child Winter Heating Assistance if they live in Scotland and were in receipt of the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance for children on at least one day between 21 September 2020 to 27 September 2020.
families will get letters in advance to confirm to expect this payment. Payments will be made in batches from Monday 23 November and arrive in people’s banks approximately four days later. It is expected to take two weeks to complete all payments. This payment will be made to the same account that they receive Disability Assistance Living Allowance for Children payments to.
families will get a payment for every child who receives the highest rate Disability Living Allowance for children. This is not a per household payment.
if a family believes that they are eligible for this payment and they haven’t had a letter or a payment, they should contact Social Security Scotland from Tuesday 8 December for further advice.
people can contact Social Security Scotland through web chat at mygov.scot/contact-social-security-scotland/ by calling the Freephone helpline on 0800 182 2222.
while the pandemic continues to have an impact on our operations and our delivery partners – including health and social care and the Department for Work and Pensions – we are doing what we can to progress policy, design and development work. We are still working through what the impacts of COVID-19 mean for our delivery timeline and holding conversations with partners to establish what we can introduce and when.
New approach will ensure dignity, fairness and respect
There will be no DWP- style assessments to access disability assistance under the new Scottish social security system, says Social Security Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville.
Decisions will be made using information gathered through the applications process including from health care providers
Should more detail be required to make decisions on an application for the new Adult Disability Payment, it will be gathered through a consultation which will be based on a conversation between a healthcare professional employed by the Scottish Government and the client. There will be no private sector involvement in this process.
Most consultations will be by phone but can be face to face in a GP practice or even at home, whatever works best for the person applying. No-one will be asked to carry out tasks in order to prove the impact of their disability or health condition.
Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said: “Two of our principles enshrined in law is that social security is a public service and an investment in people – it is there for all of us when and where we need it. So no one should ever experience stress when accessing the support they are entitled to.
“People who require disability assistance will already face a number of challenges and interacting with a benefit system shouldn’t become another one. That is why I am pleased to set out plans for Scotland’s new system – plans that will make sure that people are treated with dignity, fairness and respect.
“We want people to feel that they have been treated well and fairly at every stage – from having an application form that is clear and easy to use right through to how we make sure someone is still able to access money when they want to appeal our decisions.
“Getting rid of degrading assessments that our Experience Panels told us were ‘traumatic and intrusive’ is the right thing to do. It is an obvious change but one that will make a massive difference to people.
“I’d like to thank the people who have worked with us to design this service – the volunteers on our Experience Panels and stakeholders. Together we will deliver a markedly different benefit system and create a public service that we can all be truly proud of.”
Advice on safe and enjoyable Halloween celebrations
Families and children are being urged to avoid guising this Halloween to minimise the risk of spreading Coronavirus (COVID-19).Deputy First Minister John Swinney says the move is necessary to ensure people stay within the current restrictions on indoor and outdoor gatherings.
Advice on the Parent Club website suggests ways for families to have a safe Halloween at home including ideas around party games, fancy dress and storytelling.
For Bonfire Night, the advice includes guidelines around group sizes, distancing and FACTS precautions to reduce the temptation for people to hold gatherings and firework displays in their back gardens.
Mr Swinney said: “Under the current restrictions it is not possible to meet up indoors or in large groups outdoors, so the safest thing to do this year is to stay at home.
“I know guising is a big part of Halloween and children will be sad to miss out, but as door-to-door guising brings an additional and avoidable risk of spreading the virus, our clear advice for families is to avoid it.
“Children can still get dressed up and share jokes with their families, and our Parent Club guidance has lots of fun and creative ideas for families to enjoy a safe celebration at home.
“On Bonfire Night it is vital the public adhere to the rules on meeting up with other households to help stop the spread of the virus. We know that some people may consider using fireworks in their back gardens If you do plan on using fireworks this Bonfire Night, please do so responsibly and safely.
“Adapting alternative celebrations and sticking to the rules in place can go a huge way to ensuring everyone’s safety.”
Flagship venues are to receive funding as part of the ongoing emergency coronavirus (COVID-19) support for cultural and heritage organisations.The news comes as Scotland is allocated £97 million from the UK Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.
Capital Theatres – which operates the Festival Theatre, the King’s Theatre and The Studio in Edinburgh – will receive £500,000 in addition to £250,000 already awarded through the Performing Arts Venue Relief Fund to help weather the effects of the pandemic.
The Burrell Renaissance Project in Glasgow has been awarded £750,000 to help cover increased project costs caused by the COVID-19 crisis and V&A Dundee will receive £1 million of support.
The funding is part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to support culture and heritage sectors as they recover from the impacts of COVID-19. So far almost £98 million of emergency funding has been allocated.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Culture is vitally important to all of our lives, and the Scottish Government is determined to do everything within our powers to see the sector through this crisis. This includes providing financial support to our flagship cultural venues, as well as the work already underway to help smaller organisations and individuals within the culture sector.
“This latest funding announcement brings the Scottish Government’s total COVID-19 support package for our culture and heritage sectors to just under £98 million. We know further support will still be needed, and the major issues presented by the pandemic are not going away, which is why we will continue to work in partnership with the sector to support them to not only survive the pandemic but to thrive in future.”
CEO of Capital Theatres Fiona Gibson said: “Today’s emergency funding announcement from the Scottish Government for Capital Theatres is greatly appreciated. It is the short-term financial lifeline that we have campaigned tirelessly for in recent months.
“We would very much like to thank the Scottish Government for their support and recognition, acknowledging the crucial contribution our theatres provide to the local, national and cultural sector economies. This will enable us to continue supporting our core staff, freelancers and communities alike.”
Scottish Government emergency COVID-19 funding for cultural and heritage sectors also includes:
£12.5 million for Performing Arts Events Venues Relief Fund
£2.2 million for Grassroots Music Venues
£4 million for Museums Recovery and Resilience Fund
£10 million for the Events sector
£3.8 million for National Trust for Scotland to protect jobs
£15 million for a Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund
£5 million to address hardship faced by creative freelancers
£5 million to support artists developing new creative work that will make a significant contribution to Scotland’s recovery from COVID-19
£3.5 million for independent cinemas
£3 million for youth arts, including the Youth Music Initiative
£21.3 million for Historic Environment Scotland
£5.9 million to support heritage organisations through committed grants
£270,000 for the New Lanark Trust World Heritage site
£4 million for historic environment recovery
£1 million for Scotland’s Science Centres
And in England, 35 of the country’s leading cultural organisations and venues will be the first to receive grants between £1 and £3 million from the UK Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden announced this morning.
£75 million will protect some of the nation’s most significant stages, from the iconic Shakespeare’s Globe and the internationally renowned Sadler’s Wells to major theatres like the Old Vic, Sheffield Crucible, Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre, the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
These famous organisations have been essential stepping stones for some of the UK’s brightest stars including Adrian Lester, Abi Morgan, Mark Rylance and David Tennant.
More than £500 million has now been allocated from the Culture Recovery Fund to nearly 2,500 cultural organisations and venues of all sizes, including cinemas, heritage sites, museums, circuses, festivals and comedy clubs across the country, to help them plan for reopening and restarting performances and programmes.
The certainty and security provided by these grants will also help to support organisations as they plan for the future and create opportunities for freelancers.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “As part of our unprecedented £1.57 billion rescue fund, today we’re saving British cultural icons with large grants of up to £3 million – from Shakespeare’s Globe to the Sheffield Crucible.
“These places and organisations are irreplaceable parts of our heritage and what make us the cultural superpower we are. This vital funding will secure their future and protect jobs right away.”
All four nations are benefiting from the UK Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, with £188 million barnetted to the Devolved Administrations to run their own process – £97 million for Scotland (see above), £59 million for Wales and £33 million for Northern Ireland.
This funding will enable them to increase the support already available to the arts and cultural sectors in each nation.
Five level plan to vary rules for rapid but proportionate response to COVID-19.
A five-level framework which will allow for a refreshed strategic approach to suppressing Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreaks across Scotland has been published.
The framework indicates different levels of protection that might be needed based on different levels of transmission for the virus. It will allow for rapid but proportionate responses on both a local and national basis using a transparent range of measures and options.
The framework will comprise five protection levels. ‘Level 0’ is effectively the same level of protection as the Route Map Phase 3 measures Scotland reached in August and will act as a baseline, with four levels above that designed to apply increasing protection from the virus in areas according to prevalence, the risk to communities and the need to protect the NHS.
Levels 1, 2 and 3 will be broadly equivalent to the UK Government levels to offer some uniformity with measures south of the border. Levels will be reviewed on a regular basis.
Ongoing financial support is set out in the framework and will be available to businesses which are required to close or which can remain open but will be directly affected by restrictions. The Scottish Government will work with local authorities to ensure grants are made available quickly and efficiently.
In the coming days the Scottish Government will engage with local government, stakeholders, economic groups and other partners, prior to a final version of the strategic framework being debated in parliament next Tuesday (27 October).
Further details on which local authority areas of Scotland will fall under which levels will be announced following discussions with directors of public health and local authorities, taking on board recommendations from the national incident management team, before coming into force on 2 November.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “It has become increasingly clear that we need to update our approach to tackling Coronavirus to adapt to this latest phase of the pandemic. The draft strategic framework we are publishing sets out how we intend to do that.
“It tries to balance different types of harms. But it is worth stressing that if we allow the virus to run out of control then that will exacerbate every other harm.
“In the coming days, we will listen to views from stakeholders on any suggested changes they might have, or how they would like to see it implemented. Although the framework we have published is new, the principles behind it will be familiar.
“I know that when people hear the daily figures it’s easy to feel as though the hard sacrifices we are all living with are not making a difference. But by taking these difficult steps we will help suppress the virus, and that is why I am asking everyone to stick with it.”
