Second Report - Coronavirus and Scotland

We recommend that the lessons learned from Exercise Cygnus in relation to intergovernmental working, specifically inviting devolved administrations to smaller meetings, are revisited. This should feed into the public inquiry of Covid-19, as committed to by the Prime Minister. A … Read more We recommend that the lessons learned from Exercise Cygnus in relation to intergovernmental working, specifically inviting devolved administrations to smaller meetings, are revisited. This should feed into the public inquiry of Covid-19, as committed to by the Prime Minister. A section of this public inquiry should relate to the pandemic in Scotland. This should focus on areas of reserved competence, concentrating on intergovernmental relations and working together in the health sector. It is crucial following the publication of this review that lessons learned are implemented and are assessed annually to ensure that Scotland is prepared for any future pandemics. (Paragraph 31) Economy Show less

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We acknowledge there are staffing issues for the health and social care sector and that the Migration Advisory Committee did not have enough information when making the decisions about the Shortage Occupation List for Scotland. We welcome the recent development … Read more We acknowledge there are staffing issues for the health and social care sector and that the Migration Advisory Committee did not have enough information when making the decisions about the Shortage Occupation List for Scotland. We welcome the recent development of including senior care workers and nursing assistants to the Shortage Occupation List but do not believe this goes far enough. We recommend that the Migration Advisory Committee include all key health and social care workers on the Shortage Occupation List for Scotland. We also urge the Scottish Government to do more to encourage a larger share of migrants to the UK to live in Scotland. Show less

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We recommend that when the UK Government plans for future pandemics it considers all three areas—immigration, supply chain and exports—as part of the whole picture. Where responsibility is devolved to Scotland, the UK Government and Scottish Government should work closely … Read more We recommend that when the UK Government plans for future pandemics it considers all three areas—immigration, supply chain and exports—as part of the whole picture. Where responsibility is devolved to Scotland, the UK Government and Scottish Government should work closely together to support these three key areas. These plans should be annually reviewed by the UK Government and have the recommendations implemented as soon as practicable, at least by the end of Show less

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We agree with Professor Nicola McEwen that trust is an essential ingredient for intergovernmental relations, and it is clear that trust needs to develop between the UK and Scottish Governments. This takes effort from both sides. Holding regular, formal, structured, minuted meetings is an essential part of co-ordinating the response …

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We welcome the review of intergovernmental working and look forward to seeing the results of the report. We intend to return to this issue later in the Parliament.

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The evidence we received covering the general role of the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland has been helpful. We look forward to hearing a response to the recommendation in the interim report about the specific role of the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland during …

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The evidence we have received suggests that the economic support packages provided by both the UK and Scottish Governments have been effective. Nonetheless, we believe that there is a case for conducting a review of the impacts of these packages, Coronavirus and Scotland 39 ensure they provided value for money …

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The Government response to our predecessor Committee’s report on Immigration and Scotland is now more than two years overdue. While we acknowledge the exceptional pressures on the Government in recent years, a delay of this length is wholly unacceptable. The response must now be produced as soon as possible, and …

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The Seasonal Workers Pilot Scheme is vital for the Scottish food sector, the pandemic highlighted that there is not the local take-up for these seasonal roles. We believe that not having enough people to harvest Scottish food puts an important part of the Scottish economy at risk, along with the …

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Scottish exports make a major contribution to the Scottish economy and the risks to those key export sectors ought to be a major concern of both the UK and Scottish Governments. We have heard about the huge reduction in exports throughout the first part of 2020, largely due to the …

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