Before the COVID-19 pandemic, health boards were required to compensate people who they asked to self-isolate due to an infectious disease. This was required by the Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008.
The Coronavirus Act 2020 changed this. The 2020 Act let health boards decide whether people who are self-isolating because of COVID-19 received compensation under the 2008 Act. The relevant provision of the 2020 Act will expire in March 2022.
This Bill would change the law so that health boards will still have the option to provide compensation. However, they will not be obliged to do so, to anyone they ask to self-isolate due to COVID-19. Instead, people earning the equivalent of the real living wage or less would continue to be eligible to claim a Self Isolation Support Grant.
The law will apply until 31 October 2022. The Bill allows for the Scottish Government to reduce or extend that period if required.
As with all Bills, the Finance and Public Administration Committee invites written evidence on the estimated financial implications of the Bill as set out in its accompanying Financial Memorandum (FM).
Read the FM for this Bill: Financial Memorandum.
The call for views on the Bill's FM closed on 8 December 2021.
The Committee received 3 submissions to the call for views. Read the submissions received on Citizen Space.
The Committee has agreed to forward the submissions received to the COVID-19 Recovery Committee as part of that Committee's consideration of the Coronavirus (Discretionary Compensation for Self-isolation) (Scotland) Bill and take no further action.