Chamber and committees

Physical distancing has been an important element in controlling the spread of COVID which is key to keeping our economy open and moving forward to recovery from the impacts of the virus.

Much work has been undertaken by operators in order to safely maximise capacity on ferries. The exemption from 10 July 2020 to allow 1 metre distancing on ferries, with appropriate risk mitigations, significantly increased passenger capacity, and continues to ensure that ferry services can support the reopening of the tourism sector that is so essential for the sustainability of island and rural economies, as well as enabling islanders to travel to the mainland.

The Scottish Government is reviewing physical distancing including its impact on transport, and an announcement of the outcome of this review is due shortly. Sectoral guidance will be updated to reflect the outcome of the review. Physical distancing has been an important tool for controlling the virus but, as with all restrictions, we will only have this in place as long as is necessary.

The timeline for publishing the Island Connectivity Plan remains the beginning of 2023 when the current Ferries Plan (2013-2022) ends.

The Scottish Government offers a range of initiatives delivered through the Energy Savings Trust (EST) to support low income households in Scotland, this will ensure all households are able to enjoy the benefits that come with making the switch to electric vehicles. More detail on these initiatives is as follows:

Plugged-in Communities (PiC)

This grant programme is aimed at housing associations, housing cooperatives and not-for-profit organisations, it aims to provide access to Electric Vehicles (EV’s) and the associated infrastructure to low-income communities across Scotland in the form of shared-use EV car clubs. To date these vehicles have covered over 100,000 pure EV miles.

Low Carbon Transport Loan (LCTL)

In September 2020, the loan was extended to offer interest free funding to individuals looking to purchase used EV’s, this removed some of the barriers attributed to the high up front cost of EV ownership, so far we have supported more than 96 individuals purchase used EV’s to a value of over £1.2m

Low Emission Zone (LEZ) support fund

For 2021-2022, £3.7m has been allocated to the LEZ support fund, this offers an incentive for low-income households within a 20km radius of a LEZ to take older, more polluting vehicles off the road, applicants can receive a cash grant of £2000 plus up to £1000 ‘travel better’ credits per household to support the uptake of sustainable travel options.

Chargeplace Scotland (CPS) network

To date we have invested over £45m in developing the CPS network for EV charging, we now have over 1700 charge points across Scotland which offers significant cost saving benefits to its users. This also ensures that households and communities across Scotland are able to enjoy a high quality charging network to support their switch to electric vehicles.

Public Transport

Bus is already one of the most climate-friendly transport choices people can make. Transitioning buses to be zero-emission increases the benefits of bus as a transport choice.

Over 2020-2021 we awarded £50.7m, and unlocked over £71m of private investment, to support 272 new battery-battery buses and associated charging infrastructure, we have also committed a further £120m to build on this progress over the coming 5 years.

Significant grant funding of over £12m has been awarded to the bus industry to help with the costs of retrofitting over 700 buses to LEZ entry standards. This will help support the affordability and accessibility of public transport for many lower income households by safeguarding bus service provision in LEZ cities.

COVID-19 is first and foremost a public health crisis, and the measures to combat it have been necessary to save lives. But those measures also cause harm, including for our Faith and Belief Communities.

We know that the virus spreads between people and we’re particularly concerned when it spreads between members of different households. Over time, the virus has mutated to spread more quickly. The Delta variant is even more transmissible than previous variants.

In order to reduce transmission of the virus, we have to reduce opportunities for the virus to spread. There have been varying degrees of restrictions implemented and adjusted as the pandemic has progressed and our understanding has developed. Ministers are obliged to keep these restrictions under regular review to ensure that they remain necessary and proportionate in responding to the pandemic, This is particularly important given that many restrictions significantly interfere with fundamental rights as enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights (e.g. Article 9 - freedom of religion, Article 8 - right to private and family life., Article 2 protocol 1 - right to education, Article 1, protocol 1 – right to property, and to the peaceful enjoyment of possessions – which protects every type of business).

The Scottish Government considers a wide range of evidence when making assessments to inform decisions on restrictions. Details of impacts from economic, general wellbeing, mental health and anxiety and other non-Covid related health harms can be found in the four harms dashboard which is updated weekly and can be found at https://data.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/ . Further information about the Scottish Government’s decision-making framework can be found in the paper published on 11 December 2020: Coronavirus (COVID-19): framework for decision making - assessing the four harms. This paper provides an overview of key analysis and evidence (and links to more detailed evidence) in support of decisions on how best to limit the effects of COVID-19. In this document, we describe how the four harms approach works in practice and present evidence under each of the harms to illustrate how we used the four harms to make decisions about levels, activities and restrictions.

Protective measures, or non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), are a critical tool in the management of the epidemic. Our levels system is a crucial aspect of this and it works by limiting members of different households from interacting in different settings and activities. Decisions must be made about which activities and settings to restrict in order to achieve the required suppression of the virus. When different restrictions would have similar effects on transmission, difficult decisions must be made about which restrictions to apply, informed by the impacts on the four harms of the different options, as well as impacts on particular groups in society, including those with protected characteristics.

We understand that different sectors or interest groups will often want the restrictions that affect them, and their fundamental rights, to be eased more quickly and will perhaps argue that there is little or no evidence of transmission in that particular setting or activity, or that it is less risky than other comparable settings or activities facing lesser restrictions. Although we do take the transmission risk of different settings and activities very much into account, we take a broader view across all four harms in order to make judgements about the sequencing of any easing. As an example, the importance placed on the education and wellbeing of children led to a decision on the opening of schools as a priority.

The easing of restrictions, has to be balanced with the need to keep the virus suppressed. If we opened everything and lifted all restrictions too early, the virus would resurge. Notwithstanding the positive impact of the vaccination programme, this could lead to exponential growth in hospital admissions and serious health harm. So at this stage, with all adults yet to be offered both doses of the vaccine, we still need to keep some restrictions in place.

As the First Minister set out on 1 June, we do have cause for optimism. Emerging evidence is providing us with a firm basis to believe that in the next phase of the pandemic, expected during summer 2021, we will be able to deal with the virus differently and less restrictively. There should be much less need for legal restrictions on different settings and activities and more scope for people to apply personal judgement as the risk of harm from COVID recedes and much greater normality is restored to our lives.

The Scottish Government is reviewing physical distancing including the impact on places of worship, who are subject to physical distancing based capacity, and an announcement expected in the near future. The review will consider the faster spreading Delta variant as well as the effectiveness of the vaccination roll out. Sectoral guidance will be further updated to reflect the outcome of the review, including proposals for as clear a route as possible to the reduction/removal of physical distancing, enabling people and organisations to plan effectively for a full reopening. We continue to regularly engage with Faith and Belief Communities regarding the scope for further easing.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00514 on 16 June 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government has fully considered all of the suggestions made by stakeholders alongside all current data, scientific evidence and clinical advice available to us. Based on this assessment, subject to the relevant guidance being in place, our recommendation is that cruise restart when all of Scotland reaches Level 1.

While we would have been keen to provide a date, we need to work with the data available and any date would have been subject to review. This decision has been informed by the combination of risks that exist with both cruises and within the wider travel context, such as: the current trajectory of Covid infections and the unknowns around the new Delta variant, the close-proximity form of leisure that cruises offer that has high risk of uncontained rapid transmission, and, the opportunities to spread Covid through multiple stops in different levels around Scotland. These are only some of the risks, and although some of them could be mitigated through good protocols, it is the compound effect of all the risks involved which has led to this decision.

We are committed to reviewing restrictions every 3 weeks as part of the phased national easing through the Levels. The next review point is scheduled ahead of the planned easing of restrictions from 28 June. Our aim is to enable a restart to cruise as quickly and safely as possible and we are keen to continue to work with the sector on any required guidance ahead of this date.

The Improvement Service published its latest Early Learning and Childcare Expansion Delivery Progress Report. The report is available on the Improvement Service website and linked on the Scottish Government ELC Joint Delivery Board web page.

This report provides an update on progress by local authorities towards the delivery of 1140 hours of funded ELC at the end of April 2021 as reported by local authorities, comparing this to their reported position throughout this academic year. As members of Parliament will be aware, the duty on local authorities to provide 1140 hours of funded early learning and childcare to all eligible children will come into effect in August 2021.

As the report sets out, local authorities continue to make good progress towards delivery, with an additional 10,510 children accessing 1140 hours since February 2021. The report also shows that the local authority ELC workforce in Scotland is reported to have increased by 7,178 FTE since academic year 2016/17, including an increase of 230 FTE since February 2021.

Following a revision to the Improvement Service data collection framework in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, data gathering is planned for the beginning of each academic term through to April 2022.

There is no specific allocation within consequentials arising from support for large self-catering though we have ensured that they have received financial support via the Strategic Framework Business Fund, and Business Restart Grants as well as a tailored package of support to help mitigate against the impact of the single household restrictions via the large self-catering and exclusive use support funds. This is in addition to the 100% Business Rates Relief that we have provided for all businesses in the Hospitality, Retail and Leisure Sectors for both the 20/21 and 21/22 Financial Years. We also ensured businesses not on the NDR roll were eligible for equivalent Strategic Framework Business Fund support via the small accommodation providers council tax fund (SAP-CT).

We understand that a proportion of self-catering businesses, which are larger (7+) and rely on multiple households sharing continue to face challenges in trading due to household restrictions. We worked closely with the sector in order to produce tailored grant support for large self-catering businesses and exclusive use properties as well as targeted support for businesses who pay council tax via the small accommodation providers council tax fund. We have engaged regularly with the sector throughout the pandemic to understand operating conditions and to develop support to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions. We have regular dialogue with the STA, the ASSC and STERG and will continue to review areas that may need further support on an ongoing basis as we progress through the levels framework, in particular to those sectors which are subject to greater constraint.

We continually review the financial support that we provide to businesses to ensure that we direct funding to businesses impacted by COVID-19 while recognising that are simply unable to make up for all of the losses incurred by businesses. As part of this process we have provided additional funding to self-catering properties, alongside other accommodation providers in Glasgow and Moray impacted by the decision to retain Tier 3 Restrictions for an additional period in these areas. With no new consequentials made available by the UK Government with which to support businesses we are having to make difficult decisions about which businesses to prioritise for support, particularly those in areas which have experienced recent Covid-19 outbreaks and face continued closure. We will keep making the case to the UK Government for more funding to make additional financial support available to businesses that require further assistance and to transfer the fiscal levers required to enable us to respond fully to the needs of Scottish businesses.