Chamber and committees

I am delighted to inform you that the consultation report has been published today and is available online at http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781839608087

All Health Boards in Scotland now have capacity to carry out testing for COVID-19 and in NHS Western Isles this started on 27 April.

The Scottish Government is working with the sector, and all parts of the tourism industry to support them as best we can. There are a range of schemes that can be accessed at present such as furloughing or access to the Self-employment Income Support Scheme.

On 15 April, I announced £220 million worth of further measures. This will make available grants for the recently self-employed, extend the Small Business Grant Scheme to include applications for additional properties and establish a fund to support viable micro and SME businesses in distress due to COVID.

We’ve been working closely with the Scottish Ambulance Service to significantly increase capacity for airlifting patients off the islands and to ensure that any patients from our island communities with COVID-19 can be transported to receive the appropriate healthcare when they need it.

The first batch of Epishuttles are now operational, with plans well underway to increase the number of these single patient isolation pods in the coming weeks.

SAS also continue to work closely with key partners including the Coastguard, Military, Loganair and Highland and Island Health Boards to ensure they have the resources, policies and protocols in place to carry out the safe and effective transfer of patients off of our islands when required.

The Coronavirus Act 2020 received Royal Assent on 25 March. It conferred various powers on the Scottish Ministers to respond to the Covid-19 outbreak - including powers that mirror those of the UK Government under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984.

On 26 March the Scottish Ministers made emergency regulations, the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020, under Schedule 19 of the Coronavirus Act to enforce the enhanced social distancing, or lockdown, measures announced by the First Minister on 23 March. The regulations came into force as soon as they were made.

Those regulations impose restrictions on gatherings of more than two people with a limited number of exceptions. The exceptions include members of the same household, to provide care, essential work, funerals and attendance of legal proceedings. Although people who do have to gather for one of these purposes should ensure appropriate social distancing.

The regulations also mean that certain businesses and places where people would normally gather must close, such as places of worship (with the exception of for funerals), pubs and cinemas. We understand that these are significant restrictions at an already difficult time but they are vital to protect our public services and ultimately save lives.

The Scottish Government provided guidance to accompany these Regulations on 27 March that is available on the Scottish Government website .

If further provisions are made under these powers we will update Parliament as quickly as possible.

Coronavirus is the biggest challenge we have faced in our lifetimes and the measures we take to deal with it must reflect its magnitude. On 18 March 2020, the Communities Secretary announced £350 million in emergency funding for local organisations, including charities and social enterprises, to respond swiftly and according to local needs.

As part of this, the Scottish Government has launched a £70 million ‘Food Fund’ for those tackling food insecurity, a £50 million ‘Community Wellbeing Fund’ to help charities working with at-risk people, a £40 million ‘Supporting Communities Fund’ to support community anchor organisations, and a £20 million ‘Third Sector Resilience Fund’ to support charities and social enterprises negatively impacted by cash flow issues.

Working with the Scottish Government, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations has launched a ‘Coronavirus Third Sector Information Hub’, which is available at scvo.org.uk/support/coronavirus. This hub provides practical information for third sector leaders, as well as information on funding available from independent funders.

All non-domestic properties in Scotland will now automatically get a 1.6% rates relief during 2020-21. Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, which includes charity shops, will be eligible to receive 100% rates relief during 2020-21. Those with a Rateable Value of £18,001 up to (and including) £50,999 will also be able to apply for a one-off grant of £25,000.

Further information on rates relief and small business grants is available at mygov.scot/non-domestic-rates-coronavirus.

The Scottish Government, along with the Scottish Ambulance Service and other key stakeholders, have taken a number of actions to increase capacity for airlifting patients off of the islands. These include:

• Procurement of Epishuttles, which are single patient isolation pods to ensure the safety of the patient and healthcare staff during transfer. 8 of these shuttles have been purchased, 2 of which have been received and are being tested over 7 days for a go-live date on 3 April. A further 2 will be received on 17 April and another 4 by Mid-May.
• Whilst these Epishuttles are being tested SAS is working with the RAF who are currently providing cover for transfers off of the islands, using two puma helicopters based at Lossiemouth which can transfer patients without Epishuttles.
• Where a military fixed wing aircraft or helicopter is requested, before Epishuttles are available, SAS will be able to deploy their expert retrieval team timeously to support Island colleagues prepare the patient for transfer and undertake the retrieval, meaning they will be on site ahead of the military air asset and have the patient ready for transfer when it arrives.
• Working with Loganair, who are providing two additional twin otter aircraft, one of which will be operational from Friday 3 April and the other within the next 14 days. These additional aircraft will be kitted out with Epishuttles and utilised for air retrieval off those islands with the appropriate landing facilities.
• Ensuring that patients on islands without any appropriate landing facilities for fixed wing aircraft will receive airlift by helicopter.

As always, the decision as to whether or not a patient requires to be airlifted will be made by skilled clinicians involved in the patients care. Patient safety remains our number one priority.

 Yesterday I announced an initial package of more than £5 million in financial support to assist fishing businesses during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This funding will be offered to over 650 seafood fishing companies, many of whom have lost their livelihoods with the collapse of export and hospitality markets for Scottish delicacies like langoustine, prawns and crab.

An initial payment of 50% of two months’ average earnings will be made to owners of all full time Scottish registered fishing vessels of 12 metres length and under, many of whom operate in remote and island communities.

I recognise there might be more that we need to look at for the wider sector – the impacts of this crisis will continue and some will grow and deepen. We are monitoring matters and remaining in close discussion with all stakeholders in the fishing industry to understand what is happening and what might happen. Things obviously are moving quickly and we are alert to that.

Those vessels not eligible for this initial support package, but who feel they are in urgent need of support are invited to submit an enquiry to Marine Scotland. All fishing businesses are different, and we will consider any such enquiry for financial support on a case by case basis.

Support is also being developed for the onshore processing industry – one of the largest employers in Scotland’s coastal communities – and others in the shellfish growing sector which are being affected by the loss of trade and markets.

The need for action is immediate and we all have a part to play in supporting our fishing sector, be that creating alternative markets through the retail sector, buying Scottish seafood where people can and, of course, providing financial support where this is most needed.

Any questions or queries about the fund can be directed to the central mailbox: [email protected]