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Scotland

Scotland, Aberdeenshire, Peterhead

Quarantine hotels

Quarantine hotels and managed Isolation

Quarantine hotels to come in to force for international travellers arriving in Scotland from Monday 15 February

All arrivals to Scotland from outside the Common Travel Area must book and pay for managed isolation in quarantine hotels to help protect against the importation of Coronavirus (COVID-19) from 15 February.

Six hotels close to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports with a combined capacity of 1,300 rooms will be used to implement the quarantine at a cost of £1,750 per individual traveller. Final costs for those not travelling alone are currently being worked through, as well as the details for a Managed Isolation Welfare Fund which will be launched for those who cannot afford the charge.

All arrivals must quarantine for at least ten days and will be tested twice for the virus – once on day two and once on day eight after arrival.

Existing travel exemptions will be strengthened, including limiting overseas training for elite sportspeople to athletes and coaches preparing for the Olympics and Paralympics.

A small number of arrivals will not be required to isolate, such as those involved in essential supply chains for goods coming into Scotland.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage with airports and discussions to secure a four nations approach to contracting the security, transport and accommodation services required are already underway.

As regulations to support the introduction of managed isolation are developed a range of offences and penalties to help ensure compliance will be considered.

It is still the case that all non-essential international travel is not permitted.

In a statement to Parliament the Transport Secretary urged the UK Government to match the comprehensive approach being taken by the Scottish Government.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said

To manage the risk of importing new variants, and to give vaccine deployment the best chance of bringing us closer to normality here in Scotland, we have to place further limits on international travel.

The UK Government has only committed to adopting this for travellers returning from “red list” countries. However, we know that is not sufficient and we will go further.

The clinical advice is clear that a comprehensive system of managed quarantine is essential to minimise the impact of new COVID-19 variants.

seafood sector

New Help for Seafood Sector

New package for hard-hit seafood sector businesses.

A new £7.75 million funding package will offer support to fishermen, seafood businesses and ports and harbours threatened by the ongoing effects of coronavirus (COVID-19) and EU Exit.

The package includes:

  • £6.45 million for the Seafood Producers Resilience Fund which will provide support to eligible shellfish catchers and producers, in addition to trout farmers who have faced issues exporting to the EU and have lost access to domestic food markets as a result of COVID-19
  • £1 million to be made available to support the investment plans of ports and harbours faced with a loss of income through landing fees
  • up to £300,000 to assist the welfare and emergency support activities of the Fishermen’s Mission in recognition of the hardship facing people working in the sector at this time

Fisheries Secretary Fergus Ewing said:

“In the absence of any further clarity on resilience funding from the UK Government we are stepping in to support the industry and coastal communities across Scotland and ensuring we meet the emergency needs of crews by providing welfare support through the Fishermen’s Mission.

In addition to this funding, last week we also supported calls for a new dedicated task force, and announced funding for two new experts to help businesses navigate the new processes and requirements.

Seafood sector “Both shellfish and trout businesses who have faced losses due to COVID-19 hospitality closures across Europe are now losing products or facing additional costs due to border disruption and new non-tariff barriers. It’s not just exporting, we know this has serious knock-on effects that ripples right through the supply chain from boats struggling to land at ports to not being able to sell their catch.

“The fund for shellfish and trout businesses will help the sector survive the ongoing loss of domestic sales due to COVID-19 and the current immediate challenges of Brexit, giving them some breathing space and allowing businesses to make the changes they need to adapt to the new, tougher, trading realities.”

Full details of the Seafood Producers Resilience Fund will be available on the Marine Scotland section of the Scottish Government website from Friday 5th February.

Funding for new seafood experts to help businesses navigate paperwork was announced by the Rural Economy Secretary last week.

The Scottish Government’s Communities Recovery Fund for community groups, charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations impacted by COVID-19 and suffering from hardship closes to applications on Friday 12th February.

The UK Government announced a compensation scheme on Tuesday 19th January but has still to set out eligibility detail.

The Scottish seafood industry is highly reliant on exports, particularly to the EU. In 2019, seafood accounted for 57% of Scotland’s overall food exports and had a value of approximately £1.02 billion.

The EU is Scotland’s most significant overseas export market for seafood products, accounting for around three-quarters (76%) of Scottish seafood sector exports in 2019, and worth £777m. Scotland is a net exporter of seafood to the EU, with a trade surplus of £615m in 2019.

Back to school

Back to school, from 22 February

Back to school – Phased return for some pupils.

Children back to school in early learning and childcare and in primaries 1-3 are now scheduled to make a full return to nurseries and schools from 22 February.

In addition, very limited numbers of pupils in S4-6 will also be able to complete in-school practical work that is essential for completing national qualifications on a part-time basis from the same date

Some children and young people with significant additional support needs will also be prioritised for a return to in-person provision, for those most urgently in need of support.

All other pupils back to school, with the exception of vulnerable children and those of key workers, will continue with remote learning.

To complement the return to in-school teaching, there will be a significant expansion of testing. People who work in schools, early learning and childcare settings attached to schools, and senior phase pupils, will be offered at-home testing two times a week.

When back to school: two metre physical distancing for adults and pupils will be required in secondary schools in the period immediately after a return.

Where required, updated guidance (and associated mitigations) will be published for all relevant settings that allows for the current circumstances and latest scientific advice. All these measures will be kept under regular review.

These decisions will be confirmed on Tuesday 16 February – providing sufficient progress in tackling the virus has been made.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said:

“I appreciate only too well the burden being placed on many families as they navigate this COVID pandemic. I am also acutely aware of the need to maintain teaching and learning wherever possible. In doing so, the health and wellbeing of our children, young people and staff is paramount.

“My priority has been to ensure a safe return for children and young people to school and nursery as quickly as possible. That is why the steps that have been announced today are guided by the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and public health experts. Children and young people will begin a gradual, phased return to classrooms supported by a testing regime and enhanced guidance. A sense of caution underpins the plans unveiled today, but this is essential as we work to return to full time teaching in schools.”

The schedule, subject to confirmation on 16 February, is:

February 22 – Full time return for pre-school children in early learning and childcare settings and children in P1-3.

February 22 – Part time return for senior phase pupils – S4, S5 and S6 – on a limited basis, for essential in-school practical work only. It is intended that there will be no more than 5 – 8% of a secondary school roll physically present at any one time for these purposes.

February 22 – Small increase for additional support needs where there is a demonstrable and immediate need.

All other primary and secondary pupils will continue to use remote learning until at least the beginning of March except in the case of vulnerable children and those of key workers. We will review this position every two weeks.

School age childcare services will also remain open only to vulnerable children and those of key workers pending further scientific advice.

All children who are eligible for free school meals will continue to receive them during this period.

Scotland lockdown

Scotland lockdown, remain until at least the 28th of February.

Scotland lockdown will be extended until at least the end of February, Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

Scotland Lockdown: The First Minister says case numbers have “stabilised”, but relaxing the rules could “quickly send the situation into reverse”.

The first minister said that despite COVID-19 case numbers having “stabilised and even declined”, any relaxation of the rules while infection rates remain high could “quickly send the situation into reverse”.

A series of new measures aimed at driving down coronavirus (COVID-19) rates in Scotland have been announced.

Current restrictions, including the ‘stay-at-home’ requirement, are set to remain in place until at least the end of February and schools will continue to be closed to most children for the rest of this month.  

Nurseries and Primaries 1 to 3 are, however, now scheduled to return full-time on 22 February, subject to final confirmation two weeks from now that sufficient progress in tackling the virus has been achieved.  

In an update to Parliament the First Minister confirmed that a managed quarantine system for anyone who arrives directly into Scotland regardless of which country they have come from will be introduced as soon as practicably possible.

In addition to guarding against the increased importation of new cases, access to testing to find cases and interrupt transmission already taking place in Scotland will be stepped up:   

  • from the middle of February, routine testing of healthcare workers will be expanded to cover patient-facing primary care workers such as GPs, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists, as will testing for all patient-facing staff who work in hospices
  • from later this month, regular testing will be offered to support the return to schools and nurseries. Senior phase secondary school students, and all staff in primary, secondary and special schools, including school-based ELC staff, will be able to benefit from routine at-home testing two times a week
  • certain workplaces where the risk of transmission is greater and which provide essential or critical services, such as those within the food processing and distribution sectors and staff within emergency service control rooms, will also be supported to introduce routine workforce testing
  • targeted community testing will continue to be expanded – so that testing is available to people locally, regardless of whether or not they have symptoms
  • from mid-February tests will also be offered to all close contacts of people who have tested positive for COVID-enabling Test and Protect teams to identify their contacts and track, and break further, chains of transmission

In order to promote people’s ability to self-isolate when necessary, financial support will be significantly expanded to include all workers earning the Real Living Wage or less, as well as those in receipt of a council tax reduction because of low income. The £500 Self-Isolation Support Grant will also be extended to people who cannot work because someone they have caring responsibilities for is asked to self-isolate. 

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

“As levels of the virus continue to fall in Scotland, it becomes ever more important that we stop the virus from being imported again. The threat of new variants is real and we must be ever-more vigilant.

“That is why we intend to introduce a managed quarantine requirement for anyone who arrives directly into Scotland, regardless of which country they have come from.

“We want to work with the UK Government to avoid travellers sidestepping restrictions and arriving in other parts of the UK before travelling to Scotland, however the most effective approach to prevent this and to stop new variants being imported is for the UK Government to introduce a compulsory quarantine for anyone travelling into the UK from overseas.

“Since we still have work to do these measures will not be introduced this week and more detail will follow shortly.

“We believe that targeted community testing can play a particularly valuable role in communities where prevalence is starting to rise rapidly which is why we have expanded our testing programme to identify cases and break chains of transmission.

“Lockdown is starting to slow down the virus. But we also need to pick up the pace in our vaccination programme. We are doing that and will accelerate the programme further over the next fortnight – providing that we have sufficient supplies of the vaccine – as we work towards being able to vaccinate 400,000 people a week by the end of the month. We are making rapid progress in protecting those who are most at risk from COVID-19.”

On schooling, the First Minister added:

“I am acutely aware of the pressure school closures is putting on working parents and on family life more generally.

“Our room for manoeuvre, given the current state of the pandemic, is limited. But the government is determined to use every inch of headroom we have to get children back to school.

“Based on the advice of our expert advisers, if we all agree to abide with the lockdown restrictions for a bit longer so that our progress in suppressing the virus continues, we can begin a phased, albeit gradual, return to school from 22 February.”

Scottish vaccination

Scottish vaccination programme moves to next stage

Scottish vaccination centres to open for mass in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

People aged 70 and over will get Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines in a range of settings, from community centres to mass vaccination centres, from Monday 1 February as the vaccination programme moves to the next stage.

Those aged 70-79 and the clinically extremely vulnerable – including over-16s on the shielding list – started receiving their invitations on Monday 25 January and subject to supplies, will have received their first dose by mid-February.  

Mass vaccination centres, including Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) and Aberdeen’s P&J LIVE at TECA, will be in operation from Monday 1 February for members of the public with appointments. NHS staff at these centres have been vaccinating each other this week as part of their induction. The EICC will have capacity to vaccinate more than 21,000 people a week at 45 stations. The centre in Aberdeen will start with 20 booths, vaccinating around 6000 people weekly. The Louisa Jordan mass vaccination centre in Glasgow has been operating since 8 December, carrying out 1,000 – 5,000 vaccinations daily. The facility has the capacity to move to 10,000 per day.

The scale of the operations at the mass vaccination centres means letters will also start going out next week in Lothian, Grampian and Greater Glasgow and Clyde to those aged between 65 and 69 – the next group on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation priority list.

Other smaller vaccination centres, located in community facilities such as village halls and sports centres, are also opening as the roll-out continues across the country.

The programme for first doses for care home residents, frontline health and social care workers and those aged 80 and over will be completed by 5 February.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said:

“Our vaccination roll-out continues to ramp up as we widen it to groups further down the JCVI priority list and I would like to thank all those involved in setting up the mass vaccination centres in Edinburgh and Aberdeen and, of course, the NHS Lothian and NHS Grampian staff who will be delivering the vaccines.

“It is testament to all those working hard to roll-out the vaccination programme that major logistical operations such as these are up and running despite the current restrictions.  

“I would urge everyone to take up their appointment when they are offered one. The vaccination programme is one of three key ways we are working to beat this virus, along with our expanded testing programme to identify cases and break chains of transmission and the important lockdown restrictions everyone in Scotland must follow. All these measures work to greatest effect when they work together.”

new funds to support businesses

Three new funds to support businesses uniquely affected by the COVID-19.

New funds to support businesses uniquely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will launch this week.

From today, local authorities will start to approach brewers, travel agents and indoor football centres inviting them to claim grants of £10,000 or £25,000. A higher payment of £30,000 will be available to the largest brewers.

Councils will brief around 400 eligible businesses on their potential entitlement and ask them to provide supporting information and bank account details. Owners do not need to apply, or contact the local authority.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said:

“We started 2021 in a way none of us envisaged nor wanted, with additional measures in place to limit the spread of the new strain of COVID-19, protect our NHS and save lives.

“These funds recognise the unprecedented challenges that brewers, travel agents and indoor football centres have experienced since March as a result of necessary restrictions.

“We are acutely aware that this support can never compensate for the full impact on business, but we must work within the resources that are available to us, and we continue to respond to the evolving economic challenges arising from the pandemic.”

The Scottish Government has allocated £3 billion in business support since the start of the pandemic on top of support available through the UK Government.

Grants available:

• £10,000 for premises which have a rateable value of up to and including £18,000
• £25,000 for premises which have a rateable value of £18,001 or above
• £30,000 for brewers only operating a property with a rateable value of over £51,000 or production over 5,000HL in 2019

More information on the Brewers Support Fund

More information on Support for Travel Agents

More information on Support for Indoor Football Centres

Support for taxi and private hire drivers

Support for taxi and private hire drivers

New fund to support for taxi and private hire drivers affected by the pandemic will launch this week.

New fund to support taxi, Local authorities will directly approach an estimated 38,000 private hire and taxi drivers inviting them to claim a £1,500 grant to assist with fixed costs, boosting the support from other funding for loss of income available through the Scottish and UK Governments.

A new total of £57 million has been allocated by the Scottish Government – three times more than the allocation announced in December.

Councils will start contacting eligible drivers this week to brief them on their potential entitlement and ask them to provide supporting information and bank account details. They do not need to apply, or contact the local authority.

Support for taxi and private hire drivers

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said:

“We know how difficult this pandemic has been for taxi drivers and their families. They’ve truly gone the extra mile, continuing to provide a vital service for key workers and vulnerable individuals throughout the lockdown and beyond.

“Following the introduction of tighter regulations at Christmas I have trebled the budget originally announced for this fund to £57 million, enough to provide grants of £1,500 to all of Scotland’s 38,000 taxi and private hire drivers.

“It will help to support the taxi trade by augmenting existing support and assisting drivers in meeting fixed costs including licence plate fees, rental fees and insurance payments for taxis not on the road.”

More details and full eligibility criteria Coronavirus (COVID-19): Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund

Support for taxi and private hire drivers

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Scotland lockdown

Strengthening Scotland lockdown restrictions

Scotland lockdown, measures to maximise the impact.

Further measures to help stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and limit non-essential contact will be introduced this weekend.

Nobody who lives in a Level 4 area should leave or remain outside their home except for essential purposes.

Working from home arrangements will be strengthened through updated statutory guidance. Working from home should now be the default position for all businesses and services, and only those who cannot do their job from home should be asked to go to the workplace. 

Scotland lockdown From Saturday non-essential click and collect retail services will be prohibited in Level 4 areas and further changes will be put in place to how services open for essential purposes operate. Timeslots will be required for collection and people should not enter a store to collect an item. Businesses providing takeaway food will also operate on a ‘non-entry’ basis only, meaning customers cannot enter the premises when placing or collecting orders.

Restrictions banning the consumption of alcohol in public places will also be introduced.

In a statement to Parliament, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

“The situation we face in relation to the virus remains extremely serious.

“We must continue to do everything possible to reduce case numbers – this is essential to relieve the pressure on our NHS and to save lives.

“Both individually and collectively, these additional measures – in further reducing the interactions that allow the virus to spread – will help our essential efforts to suppress it.

“At this critical and dangerous moment, please: Stay Home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.”

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