Programmes to help raise the attainment of care experienced young people are to benefit from £11.6 million of funding – Edinburgh’s shareis £1,000,800.
Projects as diverse as mentoring programmes and outdoor and play-based education were supported through the Care Experienced Children and Young People fund last year.
Funding was also used to provide looked after children with laptops to support their home learning during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Local authorities will work with Chief Social Workers and Directors of Education to decide how this year’s funding will be used. Care experienced young people from birth up to the age of 26 are eligible for support.
To help mitigate the impact of COVID-19, local authorities will have flexibility to redirect some of this Care Experienced Children and Young People funding from existing plans to best support the most vulnerable and disadvantaged families, with a continued focus on equity in education.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Improving the education and life chances of all our children and young people is the defining mission of this government.
“The challenges presented by the current pandemic mean that efforts to deliver equity in education are more important than ever.
“We know that there are still many barriers facing young people in care and that they are not always able to access the same opportunities as their peers.
“This funding will help remove those obstacles and allows local authorities to provide targeted help for some of our most disadvantaged pupils.”
Low-income families with a child under six will be able to apply for £10 per child, per week to assist with living costs from November, with payments to start from the end of February.
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell announced the update as part of a statement to Parliament on the Child Poverty Second Year Progress Report.
She also confirmed that a further £2.35 million will be made available to the Parental Employability Support Fund this financial year to boost the £5 million already allocated. £1 million of this additional funding will be targeted at supporting disabled parents to progress toward employment and compete for jobs.
Ms Campbell said: “These past months have been challenging for everyone but we know that coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a greater impact on the poorest in our society – many of whom will have struggled to make ends meet.
“That is why we’ve worked at pace and focused resources on getting the new Scottish Child Payment ready for applications. We know this vital payment will play a key role in tackling the blight of child poverty. To ensure that families receive the full support they are entitled to, we will link the Scottish Child Payment with the Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods through the application process. With all three schemes combined, low income families will receive over £5,200 of support for their first child by the time they turn six.
“What’s more, we are making an additional £2.35 million available for the Parental Employability Support Fund to focus support for both disabled and young parents and to maximise the impact of expanded Early Learning and Childcare entitlements. This will help families to move towards and into employment and provide wrap-around support and advice on issues such as housing and childcare.
“We are determined to continue to tackle child poverty. This has been shown by our investment targeted at children living in low-income households rising to £672 million – part of an estimated £1.96 billion directed at low-income households in 2019-20.”
Despite the significant impact of COVID-19 and the lockdown, the introduction of the Scottish Child Payment has only been delayed by two months.
Campaigners have repeated their calls for the Scottish Government to provide an urgent cash boost to low income families struggling amid the pandemic.
It comes as a new Scottish Government report detailing progress against Scotland’s child poverty targets – including cutting child poverty to less than 10% – reveals a worrying outlook for families.
The report highlights how the Covid-19 pandemic has created the perfect storm for families living on low incomes, pulling them into hardship and plunging many into even deeper poverty. It comes at a time when there is clear evidence that women – particularly lone mothers – and minority ethnic families face particularly high levels of poverty and have been disproportionately impacted by the crisis. This has increased the strain on families who were struggling to stay afloat amid a rising tide of poverty, even before the pandemic.
Members of the End Child Poverty coalition in Scotland have welcomed strong political focus to date on tackling child poverty in Scotland, including the commitment to the Scottish Child Payment, which will provide £10 per week per child to all eligible families. However, the Scottish Government’s roll out of the payment has been delayed and, as was confirmed today, won’t reach families until next year.
The coalition says today’s progress report reinforces the need for the Scottish Government to bring forward urgent interim financial assistance to support families through the coming months, particularly as the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme winds down.
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said:“Today’s Scottish Government child poverty update makes clear we face a defining moment in tackling poverty in Scotland.
Almost 1 in 4 children in Scotland were growing up in the grip of poverty pre-pandemic. With Covid-19 disproportionately impacting people already most likely to be in poverty – like lone parents, disabled people, and BAME families – the pandemic has swollen the waves of an already-rising tide of hardship in our communities.
The cross-party will for ending child poverty in Scotland is evident, but we need that will turned into more urgent action. Today’s confirmation that the Scottish Child Payment will be delivered for under-6s by February is welcome. But for parents struggling to put food on the table in August, February seems like a very long time away. They need to see measures brought forward now to bridge that gap, with direct and urgent financial support.”
Martin Canavan, Head of Policy and Participation at Aberlour, on behalf of the End Child Poverty members in Scotland said:“We are urging the Scottish Government to act quickly to protect children from poverty by bridging the gap until the initial roll out of the Scottish Child Payment next year.
“Low income families need direct and immediate financial support, and this should be at least equivalent in value to the £10 per week per child payment for all eligible families.
“Many families are facing desperate situations; we know there are over 30,000 more families with children who are now claiming Universal Credit in Scotland since Covid-19 hit. Low-paid women and their children, who were already at particular risk of poverty, have been put at even greater risk as a result of being disproportionately impacted by unemployment and enforced reduction of hours. The last five months will have caused yet more stress to those already walking the tightest of financial tightropes.
“There has been much political discussion and debate about the wider economic impact of the pandemic and how we can avert a financial catastrophe. But many families are already deep in this crisis and feel like there’s just no way out.
“The Scottish Government must prioritise the lives of children growing up in poverty and ensure families receive the financial support they urgently need.”
Jo*, a Mum from Irvine with two children aged 14 and 5, who is being supported by End Child Poverty member, Children 1st’s Money Advice Team said:“An additional payment would be a huge help and relief for many families during this pandemic.
“For us it would help to buy in that extra food as the kids are eating all the time and help with electricity. I’d also maybe spend it on arts and crafts or fun activities for the kids. Some families like ours, don’t get the opportunity to buy that sort of thing as we’re on a low income.”
A significant rise in the number of cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Austria, Croatia, Switzerland and Trinidad and Tobago means travellers from these countries will have to self-isolate at home or another specified address for 14 days on arrival in Scotland from 4am this Saturday.
At the same time Portugal will be added to the list of destinations where travellers will be exempt from the requirement to quarantine.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “We cannot emphasise enough that if people choose to travel abroad, they must be aware that quarantine requirements may change while they are away.
“The same can be said for the rules within the country or territory people are travelling to. If people do travel from any country that is not exempt from the requirements, they will be required to quarantine for 14 days on return, please check the Scottish Government website for more information on what this means.
“Indeed, wherever people have travelled from – an exempt country or not – they must complete a Passenger Locator Form and provide it to Border Force officials. Failure to do so can also result in a fine since this, along with any failure to self-isolate where required, poses a significant risk to wider public health across Scotland.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation in all parts of the world and assess the scientific evidence. We remain in regular discussions with the other three governments in the UK and base decisions on a shared understanding of the available data.
“However, we will not hesitate to take the action we consider necessary to safeguard public health in Scotland recognising, that the level of risk across the four nations may lead to different decisions.
“As I have said previously, we do not make these decisions lightly, but suppressing the virus and protecting public health is vital.”
All international travellers arriving into Scotland, apart from a very limited number of individual exemptions, must complete a passenger locator form and provide evidence that they have done so on arrival in the UK if requested to do so by a Border Force official.
This includes people arriving from countries where quarantine is subsequently not required. Individuals who do not complete the form and present it when asked on arrival may be fined £60. The fine can be doubled for each subsequent offence up to a maximum of £480.
Failure to comply with the requirement to quarantine may result in a fine of £480.
Those travelling abroad should check in advance for any local requirements to quarantine on arrival at their destination. The existing list of overseas destinations where those arriving in Scotland are exempt from self-isolation can be found on the Scottish Government website
Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the Scottish Parliament yesterday (Thursday 20 August):
Presiding Officer, the Scottish Government is required by law to review lockdown restrictions every three weeks. The latest review falls due today, and I will shortly report on the decisions we have reached.
First, though, I will report on today’s statistics and other developments.
Since yesterday, an additional 77 cases of COVID have been confirmed – that represents 1% of those newly tested yesterday, and takes the total number now to 19,534.
This is the highest number of new cases in almost three months, which underlines the need for continued caution.
A total of 249 patients are currently in hospital with confirmed COVID, which is a increase of 1 since yesterday.
And 2 people are in intensive care which is the same as yesterday.
And in the past 24 hours, 0 deaths have been registered of patients who had been confirmed through a test as having the virus.
The total number of deaths in Scotland under that measurement therefore remains at 2,492.
However yesterday’s figures from National Records of Scotland – which reported three COVID deaths during the previous week – showed that the total number of deaths is higher than that, and of course it showed that people are still dying from this virus.
And we must never lose sight of the grief and heartbreak caused by every one of those deaths. And I want again to send my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this illness.
Let me turn now to the review of lockdown restrictions.
I am not able to indicate, today, a move from phase 3 of our route map out of lockdown to phase 4. We will remain, for now, in phase 3 and I must give notice today that this may well be the case beyond the next review point too.
For us to move to phase 4, we would have to be satisfied , and I’m quoting from our routemap, that ‘the virus is no longer considered a significant threat to public health’.
As today’s figures have demonstrated, and as has been confirmed to me in advice from the Chief Medical Officer, this is definitely not the case.
Today’s update therefore sets out which phase 3 restrictions will be changed in the coming weeks, while other necessary restrictions remain in place.
This has of course involved some difficult and delicate decisions.
The figures we have been reporting in recent weeks show that incidence and prevalence of the virus continue to be at low levels in Scotland as a whole.
However, the range for our R number has recently increased, and our most recent estimates suggest that it could currently be above 1. Of course, this is partly because, when prevalence is generally low, localised outbreaks have a bigger effect on the R number. That said though we must continue to monitor it closely.
We are also recording more positive cases than three weeks ago. When we last reviewed the lockdown measures, we had recorded 14 new cases a day, on average, over the previous week. We are now recording 52 new cases a day on average.
And in the past three weeks we have seen one significant outbreak of the virus in Aberdeen, and a number of smaller clusters in locations across the country.
We are also now dealing with a significant cluster in Coupar Angus, linked to a 2 Sisters food processing plant. And that is no doubt reflected in the fact that 27 of today’s 77 cases are in the Tayside health board area.
In total, 43 cases have been so far identified as part of that outbreak – that is 37 people who work in the plant, and 6 contacts of theirs. This number will almost certainly grow. We are stressing the importance of all workers at the plant self-isolating and getting tested. A mobile testing unit remains on site, and the factory has been closed down for a two week period. Given the nature and potential scale of this outbreak, we are considering carefully and urgently whether further restrictions are necessary. I will chair a further meeting of Scottish Government’s resilience committee later this afternoon.
In addition, there are several cases linked to schools which are worth noting. A total of 8 adults at Kingspark school in Dundee have tested positive, which has prompted the decision to temporarily close that school.
In addition, the number of cases in the cluster in north east Glasgow now stands at 16. There is also a separate but linked cluster of 9 cases in Coatbridge. A number of the cases in these clusters are school children, although there is no evidence that they contracted the virus in school. Greater Glasgow & Clyde Health Board are also carrying out contact tracing around several other schools in Glasgow.
Finally, on clusters, there were 12 new cases in Grampian yesterday. On the latest figures available, a total of 407 cases have been identified in the Grampian Health Board area since 26 July.
237 of these are associated with the cluster linked to Aberdeen pubs, and 1,185 contacts have now been identified from those 237 cases.
As I said yesterday, there is evidence now that the original cluster of cases linked to pubs is coming under control, but in recent days we have continued to see new cases which do not seem to be linked to that first cluster. Because of that, restrictions in Aberdeen have been extended, but they will be reviewed again on Sunday, with a view to setting out – if possible – a firm timetable for lifting the restrictions.
All of these outbreaks are being tackled by our test and protect teams, and current evidence on their performance suggests that the vast majority of contacts are being identified, and most of them are being identified quickly.
However, the clusters and new cases highlight a continued need for caution – especially since our priority continues to be to keep schools safely open.
Of course, these clusters are not completely unexpected. We have always known that reopening more services and premises – especially indoor bars, restaurants and cafés – might lead to an increase in cases.
And indeed two major risk factors have stood out in reports of recent clusters. As we expected, indoor hospitality – bars and restaurants – is one. The other is social events and gatherings in people’s homes.
We have already tightened some of the rules in relation to the indoor hospitality sector – for example by putting guidance on a statutory footing, and making it compulsory now to collect customers’ contact data.
I will announce further measures intended to aid compliance at the end of this statement.
Understanding the risks of these indoor settings, has also made us think carefully about further changes and the need to ensure rigorous compliance with guidelines.
On balance, taking account of the different harms that COVID and the restrictions imposed to tackle it are inflicting on the country, we have decided that the re-openings pencilled in for the 24 August can proceed.
I must stress though that such re-opening should only happen when the appropriate guidance covering that activity or setting has been implemented. We will also monitor the impact carefully and, as with everything else, we will not hesitate to reimpose restrictions should that prove necessary.
Full details will be available on the Scottish Government website but the 24 August changes include some outdoor live events – with physical distancing, enhanced hygiene and restricted numbers.
Organised outdoor contact sports will also resume for people of all ages. But for outdoor coaching sessions, there will be a cap of 30 on the total number of people who can be coached at any one time.
Driving lessons will resume.
And indoor face to face advice services – for example Citizens Advice – can also open to provide financial advice when necessary.
We have given particularly careful consideration to premises like bingo halls, because these share some obvious similarities with the indoor hospitality sector.
It is therefore of the utmost importance that guidance is strictly adhered to and we will be monitoring that carefully.
Let me now turn to the reopening of gyms, swimming pools, and indoor sports courts. Three weeks ago, I indicated that they could reopen from 14 September, but I also said then that we would consider if that date could safely be brought forward – especially given the wider physical and mental health benefits of access to these facilities.
Having done so, I am now able confirm that these facilities can reopen – subject to guidance being in place – from 31 August.
For indoor sports courts – which includes dance studios and gymnastics – it is worth stressing that for people aged 12 and over, the reopening on this date applies to non-contact activity only.
These are the only key changes to restrictions that we plan to make within this review period.
However, we hope that further changes will be possible from Monday 14 September, in line with what is currently set out in the routemap.
However, I must stress these possible changes are at this stage indicative only.
And given the volatility we face in transmission of the virus, there is a very real possibility that some or all of these plans could change.
However, with that significant caveat, we hope that from 14 September, sports stadia will be able to reopen, though only for limited numbers of spectators and with strict physical distancing in place.
Some professional sports events might be arranged for spectators before then – with Scottish Government agreement – to test the safety of any new arrangements.
We also hope that from 14 September, indoor contact sports activities can resume for people aged 12 and over.
And we hope that entertainment sites and cultural venues – such as theatres and live music venues – will be able to reopen from that date too, but with strict physical distancing in place. To facilitate that, these venues can re-open for preparation and rehearsal from 24 August.
Finally, we hope that from 14 September, wedding and civil partnership receptions and funeral wakes will be able to take place with more attendees than at present, although numbers will remain restricted. We intend to set out more detail on this, including on permitted numbers, shortly.
These are the activities and premises for which we are currently setting indicative dates – but I want to stress again that these are indicative dates at this stage.
We are unfortunately not yet setting a date for the reopening of non-essential call centres and offices. We will review this again at the next review point.
For now, working from home will remain the default position.
I know that many office workers miss seeing their colleagues, and many are keen to resume a more normal daily routine.
I also know that some businesses – however well they may be managing to work virtually – will want more of their employees to meet and work together.
And I am acutely aware of the impact of home working on services – like cafés and restaurants – which are based in areas with lots of office workers.
However a full return to office working – given the numbers involved – would significantly increase the risk of indoor transmission.
It would also make buses and trains significantly busier and increase transmission risks there too.
Our conclusion therefore is that a return to working in offices – unless that work is essential and cannot be completed at home – presents too great a risk at this time.
The impact it could have on community transmission would also make it more difficult to keep schools open.
And so this does unfortunately come down to difficult judgments about priorities.
We have made clear that our priority is to enable children to be safely back at school. And with the virus at its current levels, that means we cannot do everything else we would like to do – like bring back non-essential offices.
Now I know people will ask why their kids can go to school but they can’t go to the office, and that might seem like an inconsistency.
But that logic is back-to-front.
It is because you cannot go to the office – and because of the other restrictions we are keeping in place – that we are able to send children back to school.
If we opened everything up right now, the overall impact would simply be too great. The virus would run away from us – and we would, in all likelihood, be forced to reintroduce restrictions none of us want to see. We have only been able to relax some restrictions because others have remained in place.
There is one final issue I want to cover today. It relates to the risks I mentioned earlier – of transmission inside people’s homes, and the risks of transmission in pubs, cafés and restaurants.
We have considered very carefully what further enforcement actions we can take to minimise the risk of transmission in those settings.
For the indoor hospitality sector, I am grateful to the many pubs, restaurants and cafés who have opened responsibly – and who have gone to great lengths to stick to the rules and guidance on ventilation, hygiene, face coverings, contact details and physical distancing. Their efforts are hugely appreciated.
However we also know that not all hospitality businesses have implemented the guidance effectively. We therefore intend to strengthen the power of local authorities to act in these circumstances.
The Scottish Government has powers under emergency legislation to issue directions in respect of a class of premises – for example, directions to close all pubs in a particular postcode.
We intend to give local authorities the power to act in respect of individual, specific premises that are breaching guidelines and risking transmission of the virus.
This power would enable local authorities either to close such premises – or to impose conditions on them remaining open – where they deem that is necessary for the purpose of preventing, protecting against, or controlling the spread of infection.
We believe this is an important – indeed a vital – but also a proportionate step, which will help local authorities ensure businesses stick to the guidelines and that action can be taken where these guidelines are being breached.
The second area we have been looking at carefully is indoor social events, like house parties.
We know from reports of our own test and protect teams – and we also from evidence from other places in the UK and indeed around the world – that these indoor events pose a major – a very significant transmission risk. And because the virus is so infectious if it is present at an event like this there is a very high likelihood that most people at the event get the virus.
That is why we advise strict limits on indoor gatherings. Right now, our advice is that no more than 8 people from a maximum of 3 different households should be gathering indoors.
The vast majority of people I know will be sticking to this, and it is not easy to do so, so I am very grateful to them for that.
But we also know that a minority don’t. And we know that large house parties pose a very real and significant risk of causing clusters and outbreaks – such as some of those we have been dealing with in recent days.
So – for use in cases of flagrant breach and as a last resort – we intend to give the police powers of enforcement to break up and disperse large indoor gatherings.
We believe that both of these new powers are necessary if we are to continue to suppress the virus, minimise the risk of outbreaks and keep it under control, which is so necessary.
We will lay the regulations for both of these measures next week and we intend that they will come into force from next Friday 28 August.
Presiding Officer, the last three weeks have given us mixed news. We have seen a rise in new cases, and a number of clusters across the country. We have also, regrettably, had to reimpose some restrictions in the city of Aberdeen.
But we still have low numbers of new cases overall. We have very low numbers of hospital admissions.
And we have strong and growing evidence that our test and protect teams and that system overall – is working well.
Given the resurgence of COVID that we are seeing in some parts of Europe – and given that we always knew that reopening more parts of the economy would be risky – the picture in Scotland could of course be better, but it could also be significantly worse.
We are still making progress in our overall fight against this virus
But we cannot take this progress for granted, especially if we are to keep our schools open; keep businesses and services open; and retain our ability to socialise and meet up in small groups of friends and family.
The fact is that COVID is still a major risk, and we must still be very cautious. We can see the evidence of that in Aberdeen, we see it in each new cluster across the country and of course we see it in reports from elsewhere in the UK, Europe, and around the world.
And that is why today’s review has sought to take a careful and a balanced approach.
I hope that the reopening of some services will be welcomed – and notwithstanding the risk that each and every reopening presents, we know it is essential to reduce the economic harm that the virus is doing. But I hope that people will also understand why – as we try to open services and keep them open – we must take firm action, when rules and guidance are not being complied with.
I also hope that everyone watching will understand that although government must and will take the lead – we make difficult decisions, we draft guidance, we propose laws – but we cannot control COVID on our own.
We are all dependent on the choices made by each and every single person in the country.
So please think carefully about whether you are playing your part as fully as you could and should be.
Please do not meet indoors in groups of more than 8 people from any more than three households – and that applies in a pub, café or restaurant, just as it does in someone’s home.
Remember physical distancing, and don’t go into crowded places where physical distancing may not be possible.
And ask yourself whether your social life feels normal – because it shouldn’t at the moment feel entirely normal.
Wherever you are, assume the virus is present and act at all times to avoid creating bridges that allow it to cross from one household to another.
I have spoken before about the importance of solidarity in how we all deal with this pandemic. And I know it is hard – especially after 5 months – but sticking to these rules is an expression of our care for each other.
It is the way in which we protect – not just ourselves, but our loved ones and our communities.
So for that reason, I will end by reminding everyone again of FACTS – the five golden rules that will help us stay safe, even as life gets back to something that is closer to normality.
F is Face coverings should be worn in enclosed spaces – public transport, shops and anywhere else that physical distancing is more difficult.
A – Avoid crowded areas, outdoors as well as indoors.
C – Clean your hands regularly and thoroughly, clean hard surfaces after touching them.
T – Two metre distancing remains the clear advice.
And S – Self isolate, and book a test immediately, if you have symptoms – a new cough; a fever, or a loss of, or a change in, your sense of taste or smell.
You can book a test at nhsinform.scot or by phoning 0800 028 2816.
Any time any one of us drops our guard, and forgets these rules, we give the virus a chance to spread. We risk turning an infection into a cluster, and a cluster into an outbreak.
But if all of us stick to the FACTS, we can continue to suppress it; we can keep schools and services open – and we can think about easing more restrictions in the future.
So my thanks go once again to everyone across the country who is helping to do exactly that.
A new organisation has launched to help Scotland’s beleaguered tourism sector make a sustained recovery driven by technological innovation.
Traveltech for Scotland will build a support network for travel technology pioneers whose ingenuity could help turn the sector around following the devastating impacts of Covid-19.
The venture will create opportunities for businesses, including digital tour operators, online booking providers and companies developing robotic devices that improve the hotel experience.
Traveltech for Scotland will foster an online community of entrepreneurs, promote industry events and create a digital marketplace to encourage growth in the sector.
It builds on the country’s traveltech leadership, demonstrated by pioneers such as flight-booking giant Skyscanner, hotel guest app provider Criton and trip-planning company Whereverly.
The £342,000 initiative – led by the University of Edinburgh and funded via the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise – will tap into Scotland’s research excellence and seek to nurture the country’s tech graduate talent.
Traveltech for Scotland involves two strands of the University of Edinburgh – its commercialisation service, Edinburgh Innovations, and the Edinburgh Futures Institute, which has a particular focus on harnessing big data and digitisation to promote social good.
Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, Fergus Ewing, said: “The tourism and hospitality sector has been hit hard by this pandemic and we do not underestimate the crisis this has created.
“Protecting jobs and businesses is a key focus of the Scottish Government’s efforts to respond to the pandemic.
“As we start to see more and more of the sector re-opening, the launch of Traveltech for Scotland will support the sector further in its road to recovery. I welcome this innovative approach and look forward to seeing how the community is strengthened as a result.”
The Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, Steve Dunlop, is confident Traveltech can support economic recovery in communities that rely on tourism and help the sector to ‘build back better’ by developing sustainability and resilience.
Mr Dunlop said: “By bringing together our digital and visitor economies, there’s a real opportunity for the Scottish technology sector to lead the way in creating innovative solutions to the challenges faced by the tourism industry on a global scale.”
The newly appointed Director of Traveltech for Scotland, Joshua Ryan-Saha, of the Edinburgh Futures Institute, believes it is in moments of great crisis that new ideas are born.
He said: “The travel industry faces unprecedented challenges and we need to invest now in Traveltech to build a better, more resilient and sustainable future for Scotland’s travel industry.”
COVID-19 has impacted heavily on the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors, forcing redundancies and reduced operations for airlines, hotels, bars, restaurants and tech businesses, and leading to the cancellation of Scotland’s major events and festivals in 2020.
In 2018 Scotland’s tech industry was valued at £4.9 billion, with over 100,000 people employed in the sector. Demand for tech recruits continues to grow rapidly: it is estimated that Scotland needs around 13,000 new people to work in tech every year.
The CEO of the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA), Marc Crothall, said the launch marks a vital step forward in providing Scotland’s tourism businesses access to new technology solutions, which can build customers’ trust around virus control and safety.
He said: “It will offer reassurance that challenges can be overcome to aid a sustainable recovery for the industry and, I hope, put Scotland on the map as a leading destination for travel technology.”
Traveltech for Scotland is initially a three-year project funded under Scottish Enterprise’s Cluster Builder programme – supported by the 2014-20 European Structural and Investment Fund through a programme of jointly funded projects with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and managed by the Scottish Government.
A total of up to £342,000 has been allocated towards creating a Cluster Builder for traveltech in Scotland over three years. The ERDF contribution is up to £171,000.
Lothian MSP Miles Briggs has welcomed the boost. He said: “The creation of Traveltech is a positive move for Edinburgh’s tourist industry, which has been hit so hard by Covid-19 and lockdown.
“Social distancing has created many challenges for tourist businesses and the development of technology to allow companies to make a profit and keep people safe is welcome.”
The £2.2m fund, which was announced by Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop on 10 July 2020, will be delivered through Creative Scotland.
The purpose of the fund is to provide grassroots live music venues, that were financially sustainable before Covid-19, with the funds to prevent permanent closure and help with sustainability.
Eligible venues should:
Be permanent, indoor venues in Scotland in the grassroots sector (i.e. those working with new, developing, musical talent), which have a public audience
Have a capacity of under 600. Applications from venues with capacities of up to 1,000 will be considered if a significant grassroots focus can be demonstrated.
Venues may apply for grants of between £5,000 and £50,000.
Online application forms will be available on the Creative Scotland website at 12 noon on Wednesday 26 August 2020.
Applications must be submitted by 12 noon on Thursday 3 September 2020.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslopsaid: “Grassroots venues are the heartbeat of Scotland’s music scene, and they have been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. We are all extremely keen to see grassroots venues reopen again but further work is needed to ensure this can be done in a safe and sustainable manner.
“This £2.2m funding will provide some much needed stability for grassroots venues over the coming months and I am determined to continue working with the sector on what further help we can provide. It’s a long road to recovery but hopefully this marks the beginning of a brighter future after the very recent dark times.”
Iain Munro, Chief Executive, Creative Scotlandsaid: “In these extremely challenging times, this fund will provide much needed emergency support to Scotland’s grassroots music venues which are an important part of Scotland’s music ecology, developing music and audiences as well as supporting the talent for which Scotland is so renowned.
“As we look to move forward through the Covid-19 crisis, grassroots venues will, when it is safe to do so, play a crucial role in bringing people of all backgrounds together to experience the joy of live music.”
Scotland’s GDP increased by 5.7% in June, according to statistics announced yesterday by the Chief Statistician. The growth in the latest month follows an increase of 2.3% in May, and falls of 19.2% in April and 5.8% in March.
Although output has increased for the last two months, it remains 17.6% below the level in February, prior to the direct impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In June there has been a wider pickup in activity than in May, with output increasing in all the main industry sectors, and in most of the sub-sectors within these.
For Quarter 2 as a whole (April to June), GDP is provisionally estimated to have fallen by 19.7% compared to Quarter 1 (January to March), after a fall of 2.5% in Quarter 1. Across the two quarters of contraction, output is estimated to have fallen by a total of 21.7% compared to 2019 Quarter 4.
This is the third release of new monthly GDP statistics for Scotland, and the first to include a provisional estimate for the whole quarter. These statistics have been produced by the Scottish Government to help track the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and are badged as experimental statistics (not national statistics) which means they are still in development.
Commenting on the GDP publication, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “These figures confirm the significant impact of coronavirus on Scotland’s economy.
“The UK Government has put in place unprecedented measures to support people, right across the country, through the pandemic.
“We are supporting almost 900,000 jobs in Scotland through the pioneering furlough and self-employed schemes and have loaned more than £2.3 billion to 65,000 Scottish businesses. This is on top of an extra £6.5 billion of funding for the Scottish Government.
“The UK Government is doing all it can to drive our economic recovery. That includes our £1k job retention bonus, a £2 billion Kickstart scheme to create thousands of high quality jobs for young people, cutting VAT to restart tourism businesses and boosting hospitality businesses with our ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme.
“We know that there are very real challenges ahead of us. The UK Government will continue to do everything possible, working with the Scottish Government, to support people in Scotland through this difficult time.”
Scotland’s onshore GDP (not including offshore oil and gas extraction) is provisionally estimated to have increased by 5.7% in real terms during June. This follows an increase of 2.3% in May and falls of 19.2% in April and 5.8% in March.
During March and April, output fell in nearly every part of the economy. In May the results were more mixed, with some parts of the economy seen to begin a pickup in activity, but many industries across the services sector experiencing further falls or remaining flat. In June, a much wider pickup in activity can be seen, with output estimated to be increasing in all Scotland’s main industry sectors, and in most of the sub-sectors within these.
The estimates show Scotland’s economic recovery in June was slower than the UK’s as a whole. The UK’s monthly GDP grew by 8.7% in June 2020, following growth of 2.4% in May 2020, whereas Scotland’s GDP grew by 5.7% in June and 2.3% in May.
Growth in Scotland’s retail, wholesale and motor trades sectors contributed 1.5 percentage points to Scotland’s GDP growth in June, compared with roughly 2.8 percentage points for the overall UK.
Despite the increases in May and June, Scotland’s GDP remains 17.6% below the level in February 2020, while the UK’s GDP as a whole has reduced by 17.2% compared with February 2020.
The unprecedented nature of this drop in output can be contrasted to the financial crisis and recession in 2008 and 2009, where Scottish GDP decreased by around 4% over the course of 18 months. Throughout the 2008 Recession, UK GDP shrunk by no more than 2.1% in a single quarter.
These results are provisional and likely to be revised in the coming months.
Voucher scheme to ensure superfast broadband access for all.
Details of a voucher scheme to help ensure everyone in Scotland will have access to superfast broadband by the end of 2021 have been announced.
The Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme will provide funding of up to £5,000 to help homes and businesses not in scope of either Reaching 100% (R100) contracts or planned commercial investment to obtain superfast broadband where providers may not ordinarily go.
Interim vouchers of up to £400 are also being made available for premises where superfast broadband is planned for after the end of 2021 – with an additional £250 for those in the hardest-to-reach areas.
An online postcode checker has been launched to give homes and businesses information on superfast roll-out in their area as well as providing information on voucher scheme eligibility.
Scotland’s Connectivity Minister, Paul Wheelhouse, said: “Digital Connectivity has played a vital role in supporting our efforts to keep people safe during the Covid-19 lockdown and will be pivotal in plans for our strategic economic recovery from the pandemic.
“Work is underway to build the infrastructure which will underpin R100, backed by Scottish Government funding of £579M. This, together with commercially-driven work, will ensure the vast majority of homes and businesses across the country can access superfast broadband access by the end of 2021.
“But Scotland has some of the most challenging locations anywhere in Europe for providing telecoms infrastructure and I have always been clear that additional measures may still be needed to provide superfast access to some of the hardest-to-reach areas.
“That is why we have been developing plans in parallel with the main infrastructure investment to ensure our 100% commitment is met, and the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme offering a level of funding far exceeding that of any other broadband voucher scheme currently in operation within the UK, will ensure that everyone can access and benefit from this world-leading digital capability.”
Around 23,000 low income households without proper internet access will be helped to get online with the assistance of £15 million of Scottish Government funding.
The investment, part of the Connecting Scotland programme, will prioritise disadvantaged families with children and young people leaving care. These families will get a device, twelve months unlimited data as well as technical support to get online safely and securely.
Households will also be linked with a Digital Champion who will provide six months of training and support over the phone. Suitable recipients will be identified by local authorities and third sector organisations who apply to the programme on behalf of those they support.
This second phase of the programme, builds on an initial £5 million to get up to 9,000 households with people at clinical or high risk from Covid-19 connected online.
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “It has never been more important to be connected and online. It enables us to access information about how to stay safe and healthy during Covid-19, keep in touch with friends and family, and study or work.
“I am therefore very pleased to be able to extend our Connecting Scotland programme and tackle the digital divide by reaching over 30,000 households across both phases that are experiencing difficulties with online access.
“An additional £15 million will help thousands of families and young care leavers who could not otherwise afford to get online, making sure they are not further disadvantaged by providing the necessary hardware, data, and skills they need to get connected.
“This builds on £25m investment in devices and connectivity which will support around 70,000 school pupils.”
David McNeill, Director of Development at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, added: “The first phase of Connecting Scotland has made a significant difference to the lives of thousands of people who were missing out on the benefits of being online. It has enabled them to stay connected to friends and family, informed and entertained, and able to continue with learning and work.
“This additional investment will enable hundreds of organisations from across the public and third sectors to provide support to those who need it most, removing the barriers related to the affordability of kit and connectivity, as well as helping to build digital confidence and skills.”
Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive, Children 1st also said: “Children 1st were delighted to take part in the first phase of the Connecting Scotland programme to help families without access to IT to cope through coronavirus.
“Good digital access is essential to keeping both children and parents connected to education, their friends and families and to wider support from charities like Children 1st during these extremely difficult times. It’s great to see the programme being rolled out to reach even more families.”
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Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House on Thursday 18th August:
Good afternoon, and thanks for joining us again today. As usual I will start with giving you the national COVID-19 statistics for Scotland.
I can confirm that an additional 49 positive cases were confirmed yesterday.
Which represents 1% of the people who were newly tested yesterday, and takes the total number of cases in Scotland to 19,407.
A full health board breakdown will be available later, but my provisional information I have is that 7 of the 49 new cases are in the Grampian health board area.
Twelve are in Greater Glasgow & Clyde, six in Lanarkshire and sixteen in Tayside.
We are dealing with known clusters in each of these health board areas and I’ll come back to those shortly.
I can also confirm that a total of 254 patients are currently in hospital with confirmed COVID. That is six more than yesterday.
And three people are in intensive care, which is the same as yesterday.
I’m also pleased to report that yet again in the past 24 hours, no deaths were registered of patients who first tested positive over the previous 28 days. The number of deaths under that measurement therefore remains 2,491.
We should remember that the weekly National Records of Scotland figures – which include confirmed and presumed COVID deaths – showed last week that five people had died in the preceding seven days who were presumed to have had COVID or whose test was more than 28 days prior to death occurring.
This week’s more comprehensive figure will be published by NRS tomorrow.
That of course a stark reminder of the impact of this virus, it is still potentially very dangerous and of course my condolences again go to everyone who has suffered loss.
And as always, I want to thank everyone who is working hard still to help our country through this pandemic in whatever capacity you are doing so, you have our appreciation.
Now, I’m hoping that – circumstances permitting – we may shortly move to having these updates slightly less frequently, perhaps three days a week rather than five.
However, I think it is important this week, that I give regular updates on the variety of different clusters and outbreaks that are currently being tackled across the country.
I will start with Aberdeen, and given that and indeed the Grampian area more generally, have been responsible for a very significant proportion of all new cases we have seen in recent weeks.
I mentioned earlier that seven of today’s 49 new cases were in the Grampian area.
And I can report today that according to the latest figures we have a total of 386 cases have been now been identified in Grampian since the 26th of July.
220 of these are associated with the cluster linked to Aberdeen pubs, and 1125 contacts have now been identified from those 220 cases.
I can confirm today that 13 cases which had previously been identified but not allocated to the cluster have now following further investigation been added because they are considered to be associated with that cluster.
Now, the slightly more positive news is that in recent days we have seen a decline in new cases across the Grampian area.
Ten days ago, for example, we reported 39 new cases in one day. Today, we have reported seven.
The seven day average for cases has also fallen.
That suggests that the restrictions we put in place two weeks ago are having an impact – as are the efforts of our health protection teams.
However it is worth highlighting that over the past week new cases in Grampian are still higher than in other parts of the country.
We will have to take that fact into account, when we announce tomorrow whether or not there will be any change to the restrictions currently in place in Aberdeen.
The situation there does appear to be improving – but it is important to stress we can’t yet say that that outbreak is completely over.
I also mentioned yesterday about the cluster in Coupar Angus which is linked to a 2 Sisters food processing plant.
So far, I can report that this outbreak has nine confirmed cases associated with it – but I will be surprised, albeit pleasantly, if we don’t see that number rise in the days ahead.
Seven of the cases identified so far are employees of the factory, and two are people in the wider community. Contact tracing is ongoing for all of these cases.
The factory – which employs approximately 900 people in total – so it is a big workplace – closed down yesterday. A mobile testing unit is due on site today, so that the whole workforce can be tested.
This is a complex and potentially significant cluster.
In addition to the overriding public health concern relating to the outbreak, the closure of the plant potentially of course has an economic impact.
We also need to consider possible animal welfare issues – the animals which would have been sent to the factory in the next few days cannot currently be sent there.
For all of those reasons, we are monitoring all aspects of this situation very carefully and closely, and will provide further information in due course as and when it becomes available.
There are also some cases and clusters that have been identified in the last couple of days involving school pupils
For example, there are individual cases involving school students who go to primary schools in Blairgowrie, Perth and Paisley.
The health protection teams are dealing with these cases and have written to the parents and careers of the infected children’s classmates, to advise them where necessary that their own children should be isolating.
I also mentioned yesterday community clusters in Lanarkshire and North East Glasgow, which include secondary school students – and which appear to be linked to each other.
Now, it is important to stress that these are considered at this stage to be community clusters with an impact on schools, rather than school based clusters. That is an important distinction, it is not thought that the virus has transmitted within the schools
In Lanarkshire, the number of confirmed cases is eight, which includes five people from three different schools. The risk of infection at all three schools is considered low.
The cluster in Baillieston, North East Glasgow currently has 14 identified cases, some of which are students at one school.
Contact tracing is taking place for this cluster.
In addition – and this is of course relevant for both of those outbreaks I have just mentioned – there are mobile testing units at the Time Capsule car park in Coatbridge and at Ravenscraig, in addition to the testing centre at Glasgow airport.
Let me repeat a point I made earlier because I think it is really important for people to understand this. These are community based clusters. And there does appears to be a link with indoor social events.
And the evidence we have at this stage seems to suggest, not surprisingly given how infectious we know COVID is, that if the virus is present at say, a house party, everyone attending the party is at considerable risk of infection – and then of course, the risk is that they spread the infection more widely.
All of that underlines the vital importance right now of abiding by the restrictions on household gatherings.
If I can remind you of what those are, no more than eight people, from a maximum of three different households should be gathering indoors. And two metre distance should be maintained between people from different households.
These rules are not easy – I really do understand that. But not sticking to them is presenting perhaps one of our biggest risks of outbreaks occurring at this time.
So I can’t stress enough how important it is that we all do abide by and comply with these rules.
For all of the outbreaks I have mentioned, Test and Protect teams are working hard to identify individuals who need to self-isolate and get tested.
But as always, anybody who has symptoms – in these areas or indeed anywhere across Scotland – should book a test immediately.
The symptoms are a new cough, a high temperature, or a loss of or change in your sense of taste and smell. Tests can be booked through the NHS inform website.
And I would appeal to you again, don’t hesitate, don’t delay, don’t wait, even a few hours to see if you feel better. If you experience any of these symptoms, time is of the essence, book a test as quickly as you possibly can.
Before I conclude and move on to questions and the Chief Medical Officer is with me today who will assist me in answering the questions. I just want to come to the issue of schools and say a final few words. Firstly to stress again that all of the cases we have seen so far which have involved school students, suggest that transmission has taken place outside of the school not in the schools.
That emphasises again the importance of keeping transmission rates as low as possible in the community, continuing to do everything we can to drive these transmission rates down as close to elimination levels as we can. That’s good for our overall health and wellbeing and the overall fight against this virus but it is also the action that will allow us to keep schools safely open. And let’s not forget the importance of that objective.
It is overwhelmingly in the best interests of young people, particularly after 4 or 5 months where they have been out of school, to be in full time education. The harm to them of losing out on that are considerable.
But we will, I think inevitably see more cases which involve school students in the weeks and months ahead.
In those cases – as has happened in the ones I’ve mentioned today – contact tracers will identify if any other students or staff at the school need to isolate, and will let them and their parents know.
More generally, the Test and Protect system so far has worked well for each outbreak we have faced to date.
And for every cluster, incident management teams in the local area are considering the latest evidence, and assessing what further follow up actions need to take place. I once again want to thank everyone involved in those efforts.
So when I give updates like today’s – providing details of cases and clusters in different parts of the country, and particular when some cases involving schools – I don’t do that to alarm you. Partly, I do it to try to reassure that the appropriate steps are being taken and appropriate interventions are in place. But although I don’t want to alarm anybody, I do want people to take notice, in fact I need people to take notice.
These clusters show us that this virus continues to pose a serious risk. It is present in our communities, and that’s why I keep saying where ever you are, assume it is right next to you and capable, if you don’t do the right things, of being transmitted to you, and perhaps from you to somebody else.
We know, and the evidence coming from recent clusters is underlining this point, this is a highly infectious virus, and once it takes hold, it can spread rapidly. And the effort that is needed then through our Test and Protect teams to stop it spreading is considerable and remember, Test and Protect is our second line of defence, we are all the first line of defence.
So for all of these reasons, the Scottish Government may well again take a fairly cautious approach on Thursday, when I will announce in the Scottish Parliament the outcome of our review of the Phase 3 lockdown restrictions.
But for all of us, these clusters should remind us of the need to be ultra-careful right now.
They demonstrate in particular how quickly and easily COVID spreads in indoor environments – which is why I am asking you to be particularly careful about socialising indoors.
And remember that the limits I mentioned earlier – a maximum of eight people from no more than three different households – apply to groups in pubs and restaurants together, just as they do in people’s homes.
And finally before we move to questions, all of us must continue not to just remember FACTS but in everything we do, abide by the rules that are encapsulated in that FACTS campaign.
These are the five basic rules that will help all of us to contribute to stopping this virus spreading and getting out of control. So those five rules are; · Face coverings in enclosed spaces · Avoid crowded places indoors or outdoors · Clean your hands regularly and remember to clean hard surfaces that you might be touching. · Two metre distancing remains the overall rule. Even perhaps especially if you are mixing with other households indoors, in your own home or elsewhere and lastly · Self-isolate, and book a test, if you have any of the symptoms of COVID that I mentioned earlier. A cough, a temperature, or a loss of, or change in your sense of taste or smell.
If we all do these things, we undoubtedly will continue to see clusters and outbreaks, but all of that will help us keep these contained and stop this virus taking a greater grip of us in terms of wider community transmission.
So, my thanks again to everybody for listening today and for continuing to do the right thing. And please, my usual plea at the end is, please spread this message to as many people as you can, so as many people as possible are following all of this vital health advice.
