Chamber and committees

Thank you. That was very informative. I put the same questions to Barry McCulloch from the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland.

Under agenda item 2, the committee will take evidence from the Scottish Government on the latest ministerial statements on Covid-19 and on subordinate legislation. I welcome to the meeting our witnesses: John Swinney, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery; and, from the Scottish Government, Professor Jason Leitch, national clinical director; Dominic Munro, director, Covid-19 exit strategy; and Elizabeth Sadler, deputy director, Covid-ready society division.

Thank you for your attendance and for your letter providing further information on vaccination certification monitoring information following your last appearance at the committee, as well as the letter that we received yesterday about long Covid and children. Deputy First Minister, would you like to make any remarks before we move to questions?

Good morning and welcome to the 11th meeting of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee in 2021. This morning we will continue our inquiry into baseline health protection measures, with a specific focus on how the measures are working in the hospitality, business and leisure sectors.

I welcome to the meeting Gavin Stevenson, from the Scottish Licensed Trade Association; Leon Thompson, executive director, Scotland, UKHospitality; Barry McCulloch, head of policy, Federation of Small Businesses Scotland; Kirsty Cumming, chief executive of Community Leisure UK; and Professor Irene Petersen, professor of epidemiology and health informatics at University College London. Thank you for giving us your time this morning.

This is the third of four planned evidence sessions on baseline health protection measures. The measures are the main tools that we are using to respond to Covid-19 and include ventilation, face coverings, social distancing and vaccination.

Each member will have approximately 12 minutes to speak to the panel and ask their questions. We are tight for time this morning and have a number of witnesses, so I ask you to please keep your responses as brief as possible. Do not feel that you have to answer every question. I apologise in advance: if time runs on too much, I may have to interrupt members or witnesses in the interests of brevity. I will begin by asking the first question.

As we move into winter and try to keep as many businesses open as possible, the committee has been looking at baseline health protection measures such as ventilation, on which the committee heard from experts on 4 November. I remember, Mr Stevenson, that when you appeared before the committee on 16 September 2021 you told us that, in general, large nightclubs already have good-quality ventilation systems in place. The Scottish Government has announced £25 million for businesses to improve ventilation and install CO₂ monitors to reduce transmission.

How well ventilated are premises in the leisure and hospitality sectors? How many businesses currently have CO₂ monitors? Are businesses considering their use?

I will go to Gavin Stevenson first.

I am conscious of time; we have 14 minutes until the two-minute silence at 11 o’clock and we still have two members to go to, so we move to questions from John Mason.

Thank you for the challenging insights into all your sectors.

My question is probably for Donald Macaskill. During the pandemic, care home visiting was stopped to protect the most vulnerable. That was very difficult for all the families. However, following the petition that was lodged by the care home relatives Scotland group, the Scottish Government is planning to introduce legislation known as Anne’s law, which will define a resident’s right to see and spend time with those who are important to them. What are your views on the feasibility of balancing visiting in care homes with the need for infection prevention and control measures?

Thank you for that guidance. I am sure that all elected members have such issues in their inboxes at the moment, because of this very challenging time.

During the past 18 or 19 months, it would have been irresponsible if we were not putting measures in place to stop the challenging situation, and we all know that we are facing a challenging winter. However, on Tuesday 9 November, 2,233 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Scotland and yesterday that number rose to 3,852 new cases, which is very alarming. Do the three of you believe that the vaccination passports should be extended to other settings?

Good morning, and welcome to the 10th meeting of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee in 2021.

Item 1 is a decision on whether to take in private item 4, which is our approach to the proposed coronavirus (discretionary compensation for self-isolation) (Scotland) bill. Do members agree to take that item in private?

Members indicated agreement.

The committee continues its enquiry into baseline health protection measures, taking evidence from stakeholders in health and social care services. I welcome to the meeting: Donald Morrison, a member of the British Dental Association Scotland’s Scottish dental practice committee; Dr Andrew Buist, the chair of the British Medical Association’s Scottish general practitioner committee; and Dr Donald Macaskill, the chief executive of Scottish Care.

I thank the witnesses for giving their time to us this morning. This is the second of the four evidence-taking sessions that we have planned on baseline health protection measures. Those measures are the main tools that we are using to respond to Covid-19. They include ventilation, face coverings, social distancing and vaccinations. Today’s meeting will focus on the role of baseline health protection measures in keeping health and social care services running over the winter. We will also consider what long-term support might be required to support the sector to recover.

Will the witnesses briefly outline the continuing impact of Covid-19 on their sector? Are we using the right approach to baseline health protection measures to help us to get through the winter?

I thank the witnesses for their evidence and insights into the challenges that they are facing. If you would like to submit further evidence to the committee, please do so in writing; the clerks will be happy to liaise with you on that.

The committee’s next meeting is on 18 November, when we will continue to take evidence on baseline health protection measures.

Thank you very much for that. I put my next question to Donald Morrison. To give a bit of background, it is a case that I have been made aware of in the past 24 hours. Back in September, a lady was diagnosed with a tooth abscess and a related infection. Her dentist prescribed antibiotics and said that she needed to have root canal surgery. However, due to Scottish Government restrictions, she was not able to get an appointment for that surgery until April 2022, so she continues to be in a lot of pain. What is your response to claims that private patients are being prioritised at the expense of NHS patients? Are those true?