Covid restrictions ‘rushed and illthought through’ claims Anas Sarwar
current Covid restrictions which allow thousands of football fans to congregate in Glasgow, but bars parents from school sports days show the First Minister is “losing her grip on communication” with the public, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has claimed.
Speaking at the final First Minister’s Questions before the Scottish Parliament's recess, Mr Sarwar said the public needed “vital clarity” on the timetable for changes to the Covid rules, and criticised the more recent alterations as “rushed and ill-thoughtthrough”.
His criticisms came as Manchester mayor Andy Burnham continued to raise concerns about the Scottish Government’s ban on Scots going to Manchester, and vice versa, claiming there had been a “concession” that he should have been told prior to the restriction being put in place.
On BBC Radio Manchester, Mr Burnham said he had raised his concerns with Nicola Sturgeon in a four-nations Covid call on Wednesday.
He said: “I wasn’t going to go into details, but since the Scottish Government did, all I can say is a concession was made that we should’ve been told in advance. Second, it was conthe
ceded we’re owed an explanation of policy.
"We’ve never been given criteria on which decision was made.”
In Holyrood, Mr Sarwar raised the issue, saying it was an “avoidable argument”.
He said: "The government has previously communicated well during this pandemic, but that has started to slip, risking public trust and confidence.
“In recent weeks we’ve allowed 3,000 people to attend a fan zone, but said parents can’t attend an outdoor sports day. Trampoline centres can open, but soft plays can’t. Hospitality venues can open late for penalties, but the government says it’s not safe on other days and we’ve had an avoidable public argument between the Scottish government and the mayor of Greater Manchester.
“Communication has to be clear and decisions consistent. The government’s own
polling says one in five people don’t know what’s expected of them, and that’s before recent decisions.
"We now have the hospitality sector, aviation sector, the wedding industry, retailers, children’s play sector and more all speaking out expressing frustration. Will the First Minister engage and listen to them and have a can do approach to this new stage of our pandemic response?”
Ms Sturgeon said : “We all want to get back to normal and we have a greater degree of normality than at any time in the past 15 months, but there is a further distance to travel and we have to do that carefully.
“Case numbers today show another just short of 3,000 cases reported over the course of yesterday … these are rising case numbers and we need to be cautious.
“As we come out of restrictions, and things get easier in many ways, but more complicated, then communication is more challenging and I will continue to do my level best to communicate clearly with people the reasons why certain decisions are taken and why some things can happen and others can’t even if that seems to be inconsistent.”
The First Minister said that many of the apparent inconsistencies had been arrived at for “pragmatic reasons”, including the issue of “opening times during football matches that might go to penalties”.
This was, she said “to avoid people crowding out pubs at the same time … it’s trying to avert a risk".
"I do understand that this is one of the most difficult phases of the pandemic as we try to navigate away from here and back to normality,” she said.
Mr Sarwar also raised the case of 24-year-old Cammy Hudson, a wedding photographer from Edinburgh, who last year was meant to work at 49 weddings, but instead only covered four after the pandemic hit.
“His 2021 bookings are all, but gone and now many people are choosing to book as far as 2023, leaving the 2022 bookings looking sparse,” said Mr Sarwar. “He can’t afford to turn down a job.
“That’s why two weeks ago he found himself driving from Brighton to Inverness overnight in order to accommodate two weddings.
“It meant 39 hours awake and driving 600 miles overnight.
“Cammy has applied for every UK and Scottish Government support package that he is eligible for and, even then, his income is around a quarter of what it was before the pandemic. He fears that without urgent action his business and many others will go to the wall.”
Mr Sarwar said while bigger businesses needed support, so did sole traders like Mr Hudson “whose incomes have fallen through the floor”.
"The government’s current approach is not working for this stage of the pandemic and it needs to change,” he said. “We all started this Parliament saying we would focus on recovery, that work has to start now.”
After the session, Mr Hudson said: “All anyone in the wedding industry wants is a chance to do the jobs we love. I did what I needed to do through this pandemic, but I saw my income fall by 75 per cent.”
“Changes announced this week won’t make a difference to my pay-check until next summer – but the government don’t seem to understand the lead time in our industry.
“There aren’t many weddings in November in Scotland.”
MSPS pass bill to extend emergency coronavirus measures
MSPS have voted to extend emergency coronavirus measures put in place last year.
The Coronavirus (Extension and Expiry) (Scotland) Bill was passed yesterday by 90 votes to 32 following an accelerated process that saw the Bill debated, amended and passed in just three days.
The bill would allow the extension of the powers, which allow for the early release of prisoners because of coronavirus, as well as the extension of protection for renters and continuing to allow courts and tribunals to work remotely.
Meanwhile, measures to ensure marriages and civil partnerships could take place during the pandemic and emergency measures to protect children’s rights will be ended.
The extension would see the powers, due to end on
September 30, continue until at least the end of March 2022, with the possibility of a further six-month extension should ministers deem it necessary.
An amendment tabled by Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie intended to ensure the extension would last just six months, but it was voted down.
Ms Baillie was, however, able to amend the bill to ensure the Scottish Government must come to the Scottish Parliament at most 24 hours before any changes are made to coronavirus-related restrictions.
Covid Recovery Secretary John Swinney said: “Having the Bill agreed today by the Parliament leaves appropriate time for the bill to receive Royal Assent early in August and my officials will use that time to make sure that all necessary guidance is updated and made available to stakeholders and the public more widely so it is clear to all which provisions Parliament has decided should remain available beyond the end of September and which ones will be expiring at that time.”
He added: “I believe this bill makes an important contribution to our national response against the pandemic.
“I’m very grateful for Parliament’s swift action in addressing this.”
The Covid Recovery Secretary also announced earlier in the week a new £10 million grant fund for tenants who have fallen into rent arrears as a direct result of the pandemic would be created.
But Labour MSPS have pushed ministers to convert government-backed loans made to tenants into grants.
The legislation has met with opposition from the Scottish Tories, who have questioned if it is necessary to pass the bill ahead of the summer recess, instead urging ministers to use the break to consult on the Bill, before introducing it in the next session.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats also opposed the bill, with MSP Alex Cole-hamilton saying there needed to be a “better Bill” put forward.
“We appeal to the government to use the summer to bring to Parliament after our return a better bill, one that is informed by the landscape of the virus as we find it in the late summer, one which safeguards the supremacy of this chamber and that shortens to the bare minimum the time that ministers have to exercise those powers,” Mr Colehamilton said.