The SNP road to recovery? We need to see a map, first
SCOTLAND has been in lockdown for two months and in that time case numbers have reduced dramatically from their peak at the start of January. We have also, thanks to the fantastic work of NHS staff, the Armed Forces and volunteers, delivered the first dose of the vaccine to more than 1.3million Scots.
While we remain cautious to prevent undoing our collective efforts, it is now time to consider what happens next.
Throughout this pandemic, governments have had to strike a difficult balance between protecting lives and livelihoods.
Between taking the necessary action to control coronavirus and the impact of shutting down large sections of our economy on local businesses.
For so many people, the lockdown of the past two months has been incredibly trying for their wellbeing and finances and we cannot forget the real effects that this trade-off is having on lives.
We are now in a position to look at how we gradually reopen the economy and return our lives to normality.
The Scottish people need hope. They need certainty. They need to see a plan.
The First Minister has promised the Scottish Government will publish a revised strategic framework next week. This cannot be another interim plan. It must be a complete route map for removing restrictions and ending lockdown.
Lately we have had to endure months of speculation and off-the cuff comments, from Scottish Government officials to the media, with definitive statements being made on a piecemeal basis and little evidence of an overall strategy.
We have seen more examples this week, with the confusion around airport quarantine measures and the possible U-turn on a return of some pupils to schools.
THAT is unfair. People and businesses cannot plan for their future like this. While it is unarguable that the pandemic has created incredible uncertainty, it is the role of government to deliver as much certainty to the public as it can, not add to the uncertainty.
That is why today the Scottish Conservatives are publishing a new paper, Unlocking the Lockdown, to set out the key questions that Nicola Sturgeon’s revised framework needs to answer.
This details the need for a clear route map for how restrictions will be lifted and the data that will be used to inform those decisions.
This includes understanding how the progress of the vaccination programme will affect restriction levels going forward. We are now beginning to see very welcome evidence that immunisation is reducing the number of deaths due to Covid.
A quarter of the population of Scotland have not had a jab, dramatically reducing the threat of the virus to the most vulnerable.
Yet it is not going to be the case that every single person in our country is vaccinated before restrictions are lifted.
However, the most important question that needs answering is what the ‘new normal’ will be. There has been a lot of speculation there will not be a wholesale return to pre-Covid freedoms, even after everyone has been vaccinated.
This has included suggestions not to book holidays and continued restrictions on public gatherings and large-scale events.
Any route map should set out not just the milestones along the journey of ending restrictions, but also what the destination looks like. Families and businesses need to be told definitively now if continued longer-term restrictions will remain in place.
At the same time, we need to ensure we are properly supporting our economy. It has felt like the concerns of businesses have been an afterthought for the SNP.
Many businesses across Scotland have been unable to access sufficient grants from the Scottish Government, whose support structure is a sprawling mess of 44 different funds and schemes.
That is why we also set out a range of measures to help businesses survive and recover from the pandemic. This includes simplifying the grant funding structure to a single fund that is quicker to pay out and accessible to all businesses, ensuring no one is left behind.
We should also ensure that grant funding is not removed as soon as restrictions are lifted.
In addition, we believe that our economy and the public need adequate time to prepare. We cannot have a repeat of last year when restriction levels changed with just days or even hours’ notice.
Finally, the Scottish Government needs to be imaginative in encouraging people to support local businesses when it is safe to do so.
WE are proposing, as a start, that they fund the scrapping of parking charges on public car parks to help get people back into high streets and town centres again.
The effectiveness of the rules in place for controlling the virus is dependent upon people and businesses continuing to comply.
The public needs to see hope that they will be able to go to pubs and restaurants, return to work and see dearly missed friends and family in the not too distant future.
Next week could signal the early beginnings of our journey out lockdown, but for that to happen we need to see the full details of where we are going and how we will get there. We need an end to the speculation and confusion. We need to see a plan to end the coronavirus pandemic in Scotland.