Chamber and committees

On 15 April, the Scottish Government announced the Second Phase of the Business Grants Funding Scheme which will commence on 5 May, and expands upon the measures announced on 18 March 2020.

The new measures are specifically aimed at ratepayers with more than one property. In addition to the 100% grant on their first eligible property, ratepayers with additional qualifying properties will be eligible to apply for a 75% grant on each additional property. This will make available Small Business Grants of £7,500 and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants of £18,750 on any additional qualifying properties that a ratepayer may have, subject to compliance with EU State Aid Rules.

We have also extended the eligibility for the £10,000 Small Business Grant to additional ratepayers not covered by the original scheme. Eligibility for this scheme has been extended to:

Ratepayers that hold one or more properties within retail, hospitality or leisure, with individual rateable values not exceeding £18,000, and a cumulative rateable value between £35,001 and £51,000 will now be eligible for the Small Business Grant Scheme on each of their retail, hospitality or leisure properties;

• Sports clubs eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme but in receipt of discretionary sports relief;
• Properties eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme but in receipt of Enterprise Areas relief; and
• Arms’ Length External Organisations where they meet the eligibility criterion

In certain circumstances, seasonal workers who started work after 28 February, and were on the employer’s PAYE payroll scheme on or prior to 19 March, will be eligible for furlough.

The Scottish Government is working to ensure that people who are not eligible for support through the UK Government’s interventions, including seasonal workers who cannot access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), are aware of alternative support available to them through the welfare system. We would encourage those who have seen their income reduce as a result of COVID-19 to check whether they are eligible for benefits from the UK Government such as Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance.

As part of the Scottish Government’s response to COVID-19, we are providing an additional £45 million for the Scottish Welfare Fund, a form of locally administered financial assistance. This more than doubles the current £35.5 million Fund and will be accompanied by an increase in flexibilities and new guidance to make sure this fund is accessible to people in financial hardship.

We are also supporting people to find other employment opportunities, including seasonal labour through:

• OurSkillsForce.co.uk ;
• the SDS My World of World Job Hub ;
• the Skills Matching Service being hosted by Lantra Scotland for skilled and semi-skilled labour in the agricultural industry and animal welfare www.scotland.lantra.co.uk/skills-matching-service and
• The Scottish Tourism Alliance for tourism and hospitality sector workers: https://scottishtourismalliance.co.uk/new-job-finding-service-for-tourism-and-hospitality-workers-launched/

Health Protection Scotland have produced guidance for clinicians on managing suspected cases of COVID-19, this can be accessed here: https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/a-to-z-of-topics/covid-19/

We are accelerating the role out of the NHS Near Me provision in GP practices and hospital-based services, allowing video consultations to take place where appropriate and reduce face to face contact between patients and medical professionals.

The Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (or “RECOVERY” trial) is a Covid-19 related Clinical Trial currently recruiting patients in NHS Scotland. It is a multi-arm adaptive study, looking at a number of potential treatments, one of which is the compound hydroxychloroquine.

Most if not all, community pharmacies have introduced measures to reduce risks to pharmacy staff, including restricting the number of people in the premises at any one time and ensuring safe distancing guidelines are followed.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) has published COVID-19 advice for pharmacies. This advice is available at https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/web-resources-container/covid-19-advice-for-pharmacies/ . This advice includes the guidance that staff must make every effort to ensure 2 metre social distancing rules are applied. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is recommended where 2 metre social distancing cannot be maintained. Community pharmacies will soon be receiving a supply of face masks to be worn where social distancing cannot be maintained.

We have also arranged for posters to be displayed in every community pharmacy advising members of the public to respect measures put in place in community pharmacies for their safety and to follow any instructions given.

We will continue to work with colleagues at Community Pharmacy Scotland and NHS Directors of Pharmacy to ensure we are taking the appropriate measures to support the essential work of the whole pharmacy network.

NHS Education for Scotland has created a new Health and Social Care Covid-19 Accelerated Recruitment Portal. The Portal is accessible through the NHS Careers website at:

https://careers.nhs.scot/coronavirus-covid-19-recruitment/

The portal is the gateway to accelerated employment across health and social care. It will enable doctors and others with relevant skills and experience to come forward and support health and social care services at this time of national emergency.

The Scottish Government provided guidance on how to prioritise available testing capacity to enable key workers in health and social care to return to work on 24 March 2020.

The guidance recommends that testing should prioritised for health and social care staff working in areas with critical staffing challenges, as identified locally.

We continue to work with NHS Boards and others to increase testing capacity.

Work around the financial impact of COVID-19 on universities is being progressed as a priority and at pace by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council. We are working closely with our universities and other stakeholders, including through the Further and Higher Education Covid-19 Ministerial Leadership Group, to build an understanding of immediate and longer term impacts across teaching, research, staff and student issues and how to support universities through this very difficult time. We are also discussing additional support with the UK Government and have committed to working with our universities to ensure they remain at the forefront of global education as we emerge from this crisis.

Families and individuals in Scotland who require financial help can apply to their local authority for a grant from the Scottish Welfare Fund. We are providing an extra £45 million for the Fund to meet additional demand arising as a consequence of COVID-19. That is on top of the £35.5 million already provided for 2020-21.

The Scottish Welfare Fund can provide an immediate source of funding but it is not designed to provide a regular source of income. We encourage everyone in need to apply for all of the support to which they may be entitled, including Statutory Sick Pay, Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance.

The UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme does include provision for payment to furloughed employees on flexible or zero hours contracts, subject to the eligibility criteria being satisfied. We encourage employers with staff on zero-hour contracts to check whether they are eligible for support from the scheme.

The Scottish Government has continued to progress work on the fee status of EU undergraduates who will be starting at Scotland’s universities in 2021-22. This work has been continued as we work to support the further and higher education sectors through the challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Scottish Government has already confirmed that EU students who commence a higher education course up to and including Academic Year 2020-21 will continue to benefit from tuition fee support for the duration of their course. This support also extends to those who then articulate to another higher education course immediately thereafter.

We will continue to progress work in this area and will aim to provide an update in the near future.