Chamber and committees

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS) is a scheme operated by UK Ministers and is open to all UK employers, including companies in the oil and gas industry, whose business or operations have been severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis. A number of oil and gas operators in the UK have already announced their intention to utilise the scheme to furlough workers, although I understand that the JRS may not suit all employers’ circumstances .

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 17 April to raise issues in relation to the UK Government Job Retention Scheme, and to ask the UK Government to consider requests to extend the scheme, define a clear end date and confirm the eligibility of oil and gas operators and service companies to access it. The Scottish Government continues to pursue emerging queries not addressed by the guidance with the UK Government in relation to the scheme. These issues were discussed as part of the meeting I chaired of the Oil and Gas Energy Transition Strategic Leadership Group on 7 May 2020.

The Scottish Government is engaging regularly with the trade unions to understand the challenges and gaps in the support for business announced to date, including the Job Retention Scheme. The Oil & Gas and Energy Transition Strategic Leadership Group, of which the trade unions are members, met on 2 April and 7 May to understand and respond to the key challenges facing the sector.

The Strategic Leadership Group will meet with an increased regularity during the crisis currently being experienced by the sector and further engagement with the sector is planned to identify any measures that can be facilitated by both governments, regulators, our agencies or the industry to respond to the current challenges in light of the downturn in the oil and gas industry and the COVID-19 crisis.

I have also had a number of direct discussions with key trade unions to inform our work in support of the Oil and Gas sector, including a pre-meeting with STUC, RMT and Unite in advance of the 7 th May Strategic Leadership Meeting and I greatly value the input we have had from union colleagues in helping us shape our response.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28236 on 6 May 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

There is no specific veterinary support scheme. However, there is a range of support measures that are in place for all non-domestic properties, including veterinary practices. They will be eligible for the universal 1.6% rates relief. Where veterinary businesses are in receipt of Small Business Bonus Scheme relief and/or Rural Relief, they will also be eligible for a one-off £10,000 grant.

A new package of measures announced by the Scottish Government on 15 April includes £120 million to extend the Small Business Grant scheme to ensure that, in addition to a 100% grant on the first property, small business rate payers will be eligible to a 75% grant on all subsequent properties.

The Scottish Government has also made available a further £100m to protect self-employed people and viable micro and SME businesses in distress due to COVID. The fund is intended to relieve the hardship of individuals and smaller firms that are ineligible for support from the UK government or are not in receipt yet of the funds they need to survive. This fund will be channelled through local authorities and enterprise agencies to target newly self-employed people and businesses who are ineligible for other Scottish Government or UK Government schemes.

An SMS system and local phonelines have been put in place to identify and respond to the needs of people who have been advised to ‘shield’. People in this group have been sent letters recommending that they register for the SMS system or call their local authority if they need assistance with accessing food, medicine or other support.

Through the SMS service and local phonelines, people in the shielded group are able to request free deliveries of food and household items as well as priority delivery slots from supermarkets and delivery of prescriptions. Individuals who are shielding are able to access these services through local phonelines if they do not have access to a mobile phone.

On 26 March the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) provided guidance for all supply staff on fixed term temporary contacts during school closures. This guidance can be found at the following link: http://www.snct.org.uk/library/2714/SNCT20-75.pdf .

In addition, on 3 April, the SNCT agreed a job retention payment scheme for those supply teachers not in a contract as at 20 March 2020. Further details can be found at the following link: http://www.snct.org.uk/library/2718/JS-20-78.pdf

The UK Chief Medical Officers have listed the conditions which place individuals at the highest clinical risk from COVID-19 – those being ‘shielded’. We have now written to individuals in all of the groups who are being asked to shield, setting out the steps they should take to keep themselves safe and the support which is available to them.

Patients with these conditions who are not identified centrally are being identified through GPs and hospital clinicians. This process will be on-going and if people are newly diagnosed, or if clinicians feel it is required, we will continue to add to the central list to ensure people can be supported to shield.

Given these mechanisms we have put in place, an additional system of self-referral for people with these Chief Medical Officer listed conditions, similar to that in England, is not necessary.

People in the shielded group are able to use an SMS system and local phonelines to access free deliveries of food and household items as well as priority delivery slots from supermarkets and delivery of prescriptions. In addition to this, a national phoneline is available which offers help to those who are over 70, disabled, require the support of mental health services, are pregnant or receive a flu jab for health reasons.

The Scottish Government is engaging with Oil and Gas UK, the Oil and Gas Authority and the Trade Unions to understand the challenges and gaps in the support for business announced to date, including the Job Retention Scheme. I have held an initial extraordinary meeting of our Oil and Gas Energy transition Strategic Leadership Group and have attended virtual meetings of Oil and Gas UK’s Operator and Contractor Councils, which have been helpful in learning of the immediate impacts and we will continue proactive engagement with the sector. Further engagement with the sector is planned to identify any measures that can be facilitated by both governments, regulators, our agencies or the industry to respond to the current challenges.

I am aware, through my own interactions with OGUK’s Contractor Council, that concerns have been raised regarding the difficulties some may be experiencing in drawing upon the Job Retention Scheme to furlough staff, given difficulties in demonstrating certainty of employment during a period where capital spending is facing unexpected, significant constraints and these concerns have been fed into Cabinet discussions on the economic response to COVID-19.

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 17 April to raise a number of concerns, and to ask the UK Government to consider three actions to prevent further redundancies within the sector. This includes extending the Job Retention Scheme, a clearly defined end date to the scheme and confirmation that oil and gas operators and service companies will be able to access it.

A number of oil and gas operators in the UK have already announced their intention to utilise the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme to furlough workers and/or are encouraging their suppliers to do so. My colleagues and I are maintaining contact with our UK Ministerial counterparts and will continue to raise issues with the UK Government across a range of fora.

As the regulation of financial services is reserved to the UK Government, Scottish Ministers are unable to directly intervene in the commercial decisions made by financial services companies. However, during a meeting with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) on 31 March 2020 I made clear the expectation of Scottish Ministers that the industry does everything it reasonably can to support businesses and citizens at this difficult time. I would also refer you to the advice on business insurance and specifically advice regarding unoccupied premises during the public health crisis which can be found on the ABI website www.abi.org.uk

You may also wish to note that the UK Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector about its contribution to handling this unprecedented situation. The Chancellor has explained that, for those businesses which have an appropriate policy that covers pandemics and unspecified notifiable diseases, the Government’s medical advice of both 16 and 20 March is sufficient to allow businesses to make a claim against their insurance, provided the other terms and conditions in their policy are met. Further information on the Chancellor’s speech can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/chancellor-of-the-exchequer-rishi-sunak-on-covid19-response .

 As the regulation of financial services is reserved to the UK Government, Scottish Ministers are unable to intervene in the commercial decisions made by financial services companies or comment on individual complaints. However, we recognise that businesses that do not have appropriate insurance cover will require support from elsewhere. A range of unprecedented measures have been announced by the Scottish Government in recent weeks including £2.3 billion to support businesses and the self-employed at this difficult time. Measures include:

• £950m for local authorities to begin issuing payments to businesses.
• Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will benefit from 100% rates relief in 20-21. And VisitScotland have suspended Quality Assurance Scheme payments, benefiting around 4,300 businesses.
• A £2m Creative Scotland fund to help artists and freelancers with bursaries of between £500 and £2,500. A first round of applications opened on 30 March and a second is planned from 20 April.
• £60m water industry package agreed to help businesses facing difficulties with water charges.
• Financial support package for the bus industry which will maintain our financial support at the levels forecast prior to the impact of Covid-19.
• £5m Seafood Sector Fund - Including an initial payment of 50% of two months’ average earnings to owners of full time Scottish registered fishing vessels.
• £10m Scottish Seafood Business Resilience Fund provides grants/ loans to business within the onshore seafood processing industry.
• support for rural business with a number of financial packages as we continue delivery of CAP payments securing over £0.5 billion since autumn last year. While much of this money is routine it helps to provide financial stability to farmers, crofters and land managers.
• A further £100 million fund is being made available to protect self-employed people and micro and SME businesses in distress.

Comprehensive information about the most current level of support being provided by the Scottish Government and also the support announced by the UK Government can be found at https://findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/coronavirus-advice Businesses are also being directed to the Association of British Insurers website which has a great deal of helpful information on COVID -19 https://www.abi.org.uk

Please be assured that we continue to look for new ways to support businesses and citizens through this period of great uncertainty.