Omicron: ‘We are now through the worst’
Sturgeon says that Scotland is over the worst of the Omicron pandemic. Daily infections and hospitalisations are continuing to fall and she will look at lessening restrictions after the 22nd February. This has led to the lifting of nearly all the additional restrictions that were put in place in December but the requirement for face masks and vaccine passports will remain, subject to review later in February
We are now through the worst of this wave of Omicron. We are on a good track at this state. To stay on this track, continued care and caution is needed. After almost two years of this ordeal, I know getting back to normal for short periods followed by further disruption to our lives, is not what any of us want. A return to normal that is sustained is what we want and are striving for. That is what the updated Strategic Framework will be aiming to support
Scotland has 26 cases of BA.2 variant
Sturgeon says a new variant of Covid-19, known as BA.2, that is thought to be more transmissible than the highly contagious Omicron variant has infected at least 26 people in Scotland. She says there is no evidence it is more dangerous than well-known strains of the disease.
BA.2 does appear to have the ability to outrun the main Omicron variant, which may indicate that it is more transmissible. Investigations into this are ongoing both in the UK and in other countries like Denmark where the subvariant has been circulating for longer. At the moment this BA.2 subvariant is not a cause for any alarm nor a cause to change our approach but it does warrant further study. It is also a reminder that the course of this pandemic or any pandemic, indeed, does remain uncertain.
Sturgeon: Rovers ‘must reflect’ on Goodwillie signing
Sturgeon comments on Goodwillie’s signing:
I think the statement Raith Rovers issued last night actually compounded the problem…what they effectively seemed to be saying is that it didn’t matter how a man had behaved towards a woman, the only thing that mattered to them was whether he could score goals for the football club. That really illustrates the distance we’ve still got to go as a society if our rhetoric about zero tolerance of sexual violence against women is to be a reality. Football players are role models and football clubs have a responsibility to make sure they are positive role models for the wee boys and the wee girls who look up to them. This is a player who was found in a civil court, albiet on the balance of probablities, to have raped a woman and as far as I’m aware, hasn’t shown any remorse or reflection for that and I think Raith Rovers really do have to reflect on the message that sends.
🗣 “Football clubs have a responsibility to make sure players are positive role models for the wee boys and wee girls who look up to them.”
First Minister @NicolaSturgeon is again urging Raith Rovers to rethink the decision to sign David Goodwillie. pic.twitter.com/gZsB9mH9PF
— Radio Clyde News (@RadioClydeNews) February 2, 2022
Staff want to work from home
According to a Holyrood filing, civil servants in transport authority want to work from home three to four days a week. Meanwhile, Freedom of Information laws also disclosed that only 5% of staff went into the office at some point between the start of the pandemic and the end of November. Transport Scotland spokesman:
Clearly a wider conversation is happening across all employers at the moment on what their working practices will be in the future. In line with the expectations set out by Ministers and national guidance, we are taking a gradual and phased approach to our move to hybrid working. For now, working from home will continue to form a significant part of the mix of most people’s arrangements. We are currently working on what our approach to hybrid working will look like but being supportive of our staff, supporting our own business and the wider economy, and of course our wider policy position on active travel, are key considerations.
Shadow Transport Minister Simpson:
It’s a pretty damning indictment of Scotland’s transport network that those responsible for running it would rather work from home than navigate the traffic jams and delayed trains to get to their office. It’s also dispiriting for those workers across Scotland who are dependant on roads and rail to get to their work. People need transport they can trust to get them into the office on time, and those charged with the running of the network should be pulling out all the stops to make this happen.
Sends Year of Tiger message
The First Minister sends a Year of Tiger message for the Lunar New Year.
As the Year of the Tiger begins, First Minister @NicolaSturgeon has wished everyone celebrating the Lunar New Year in Scotland and across the world a very happy and peaceful new year. pic.twitter.com/3ogOa8DwcA
— First Minister (@ScotGovFM) February 1, 2022
Supports McDermid, Rattray over Goodwillie signing
Sturgeon says she supports McDermid and Rattray, after the former brakes her lifelong support and sponsorship of the club, and the latter resigns from the woman’s team.
The stances that @valmcdermid and women’s team captain @Tyler_RattrayX have taken are principled – though difficult for both of them. But the fact they’re in this position at all reminds us that our society still has a way to go to make zero tolerance of sexual violence a reality https://t.co/a10yHafoOo
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) February 1, 2022
Sturgeon: Gray report wrangling ‘getting murkier by the minute’
The Scottish First Minister says the process row between the Met Police and the Cabinet Office over which details of Sue Gray’s partygate report should be published was creating a ‘suspicion’ that events were helping the Prime Minister.
This gets murkier by the minute. Sue Gray and the Met are in difficult positions but the sequence of events and the situation arrived at now creates the suspicion – however unfairly – that the process of inquiry is aiding Johnson at the expense of public accountability.
1/ This gets murkier by the minute. Sue Gray and the Met are in difficult positions but the sequence of events and the situation arrived at now creates the suspicion – however unfairly – that the process of inquiry is aiding Johnson at the expense of public accountability https://t.co/wZd4FlvgbY
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) January 28, 2022
Sturgeon criticises EHRC gender census position change
At Frist Minister’s questions, Sturgeon says the EHRC is misrepresenting the outcomes of her government’s planned reforms to gender laws, after the human right’s body urged the Scottish government to pause its reforms to the gender recognition process for further consideration. Sturgeon says the EHRC had gone through a “significant change in the position” following earlier consultations on gender reforms.
Obviously it’s for the commission to say why its position has changed but I think it’s important for me to narrate that it is a change in position. [The Bill] doesn’t confer any new rights on trans people, nor does it change any of the existing protections in the Equality Act, so it doesn’t change the current position on data collection or the ability of sports organisations to take decisions, for example.
Report: Social care ‘near crisis’
A report published by Audit Scotland on social care in Scotland, describes a care sector that is ‘near crisis’. Around £5.3billion was spent on social care in 2019/2020 and the report warns of the toll an increasingly aged population will take on resources. The report says the Sottish Givernment failed to take into account the views and needs of service users and rather than adequately plan ahead they expend energy responding to emergencies that could have been avoided in the first place. They describe staff morale as being at an all time low, resulting in staff leaving faster than they can be replaced. They identify the root cause of the recruitment and retention issues as the pay being too low. This situation will get even worse as the population age and more people require care. The Scottish Government has committed £800 million this parliamentary term and will also increase national insurance to ease the financial burden. It concludes that its problems are so serious, the Scottish Government needs to act immediately rather than wait for the creation of a new nationalised care sector.
We cannot wait another five years until the planned National Care Service is in place. Action must happen now, and at speed, by the Scottish Government. There must be clear timescales for delivery, demonstrating that lessons have been learnt from previous reforms of health and social care services.
Sarwar questions Sturgeon on social care risks
At First Minister’s Questions, Sarwar highlights Audit Scotland’s findings that social care in Scotland is in crisis.
We had a staffing crisis even before the pandemic and now services are reporting they do not have the staff they need. This is a stark report that makes clear a lack of action now presents serious risks. We have been calling for a National Care Service for over a decade but it can’t now be used as a Government slogan to delay action until 2026.
Sturgeon responds, saying ministers will establish the National Care Service before the end of the current session of Parliament and that, while the Scottish Government has given a 12.9% pay increase, they still had not gone far enough.
We are increasing the pay of those who work in social care, because recruitment and retention and the valuing of the social care workforce is an important part of what we need to do. An increase of 12.9% is actually what we have already delivered. Does that go far enough? No. And we have said that we want it to go further.
Sarwar said that change had to happen immediately not in the future and he challenged Sturgeon to back Labour’s plans for an immediate pay increase to £12 an hour.
Relaxes work from home rules
Sturgeon says that, as of Monday 31st January, work from home rules will be relaxed, leading to a gradual phased return to working in the office. She says the updated guidance is based on a fall in infections, from 10,000 new infections to 7000. Places of worship will have their social distancing requirements cut from two metres to one. She also warns against everyone returning to the office at the same time as she thinks this will cause another spike in infections.
We would not expect to see a wholesale return to the office next week – indeed, given that the level of infection though falling remains high, a mass return at this stage is likely to set progress back. But we know there are many benefits to both employees and employers, and to the economy as a whole, in at least a partial return to the office at this stage.
ONS: Sturgeon correct to say English covid rate 20% more than Scotland
The ONS says Sturgeon was correct when she said England’s coronavirus infection rate was more than 20 per cent higher than in Scotland. The First Minister was accused of having “seriously twisted” the Covid figures by the Lib Dems who reported her to the UK Statistics Authority. ONS figures show 5.47 per cent of people in England are infected compared to 4.49% in Scotland – a difference of 0.98 percentage points or 21.8 per cent. ONS Chairman Norgrove:
The data does suggest that the rate of infection is lower in Scotland than in England. The distinction between percentages (parts per hundred) and percentage points (the simple difference between two percentages) can be made easier to understand by quoting the two numbers being compared. For clarity, when publishing results from CIS, the Office for National Statistics gives the absolute number of people with Covid-19; the percentage of the population with Covid-19; and the number of people with Covid-19 as a ratio to the whole population. For example, one in 20 people.
Sturgeon:
What matters is that Scotland is doing better now than we were doing before Christmas and better now than we might have been doing had we not taken action to stem transmission. That is what is important. How we are faring relative to England or anywhere else is not, in my view, the key comparison. But, given that others have sought to draw that comparison – inaccurately – in an attempt to undermine confidence in the Scottish Government’s decisions, I hope all members will now accept the conclusion of the chair of the UK statistics authority that the data I cited was, indeed, accurate.
Scottish Hospitality Group questions Swinney referendum comments
The Scottish Hospitality Group responds to Swinney’s comments that The Scottish Government is planning another independence referendum while their businesses are still suffering from the covid restrictions:
Hearing John Swinney’s comments as I was driving, I nearly ended up on the central reservation. I think Mr Swinney, just needs to take a walk down Glasgow high street on a Friday night at 6pm or 7pm with shops that are still open but with no one in them, and come into restaurants that would normally be busy that are dead. If he’s going to make a statement that the economy or many sectors are back to normal he’s got to tell us what ones, because I certainly don’t know what they are. It’s certainly not hospitality and certainly not retail.
Legislative timetable for 2023 referendum to be decided in ‘coming weeks’
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday Morning show, Sturgeon says The Scottish Government is preparing for a second referendum in 2023.
The preparatory work on that is underway right now. We haven’t decided on the date that we would seek to introduce the Bill. We will decide that in the coming weeks. But what I have said, and I will happily say again to you right now, is that my intention is to take the steps that will facilitate a referendum happening before the end of 2023…That’s the proposition that just short of a year ago I fought an election on and was re-elected as First Minister. My party was re-elected with a historically high share of the vote. This is about democracy. It’s about allowing the people of Scotland to choose our own future. I make no apology for the fact that over the past two years, as First Minister, I have prioritised steering the country through a pandemic. I am determined, I won an election on this basis, to give people in Scotland the choice over our future. I believe when that choice comes people will choose an independent future.
Nicola Sturgeon says "the preparatory work… is underway" to hold an independence referendum before the end of 2023
The First Minister says she hopes Scotland is on the "downward slope" of Omicron, which "clears the way"
#SundayMorning https://t.co/Lj4JMkBAec pic.twitter.com/X3olNpfWUg— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) January 23, 2022
Says mask rule could be enforced for years
On The Sunday Show, Sturgeon says that if mask wearing is shown to help in the fight against Covid then they would be required to potentially be worn for years. While Scottish restrictions restrictions on hospitality and on gatherings will be removed on Jan 26, the requirement to wear masks in shops and other venues will remain. This is in contrast to England where all restrictions are being removed altogether. Asked if she foresaw masks being worn for “months or years to come”:
I don’t want any of these measures to be in place for any longer than is necessary. But masks…are something we can do. None of us enjoy wearing them but they are perhaps not the biggest handicap to endure in order to try to stem transmission. So while they can make a difference to controlling the virus then I think it is something we should do.
Ross: Sturgeon’s covid restrictions ‘far too gung-ho’
Ross says Sturgeon’s covid restrictions during the festive period, compared with England, which had fewer restrictions, had adversely affected peoples jobs businesses and mental health. He said her “wrong calls” on restrictions were compounded by her government’s failure to pay compensation that had been promised to affected businesses, with some firms “still waiting for a single penny of support”.
The First Minister imposed restrictions that had a massive impact on jobs, businesses and people’s mental and physical health. But we can now see they weren’t needed. It was the Scottish public’s actions, not the SNP Government’s restrictions, that got this right. The First Minister has tried to build a reputation for caution during this pandemic – but she was far too gung-ho in imposing restrictions last month. The Government went too far.
Sturgeon:
We’re taking a sensible approach through this, which is why infection levels – though dropping now thankfully in all parts of the UK – are lower in Scotland than they are in England right now. Over the festive period, the numbers of people in hospital proportionately were lower. We’re not out of the woods yet, but I’m going to continue to take a cautious approach, because, frankly, the price of throwing caution to the wind is not paid by governments. The price of throwing caution to the wind is paid by people across the country in terms of ill health and sadly, in some cases, serious illness and death.
Says Labour and Tory MPs are ‘interchangeable’
In response to a question from Anas Sarwar, Sturgeon cites Conservative MP Christian Wakeford’s defection to Labour, saying:
I’m just sitting here reflecting, almost unbeliveably actually, that Anas Sarwas has accused me of behaving like a Tory, the day after his party threw open the doors to a Tory MP. There is now so little difference between the Tories and Labour that their MPs are just interchangeable.
Sturgeon calls for inquiry into Wragg blackmail claims
Sturgeon says an independent inquiry should investigate Wragg’s allegations that Tory MPs calling for the Prime Minister to quit have faced blackmail and intimidation.
These are gravely serious allegations – intimidation, blackmail and using public money to do it. I would suggest that these accusations need to be fully and, crucially, independently investigated…They shock me.”
Later, the First Minister tweeted:
Let’s be clear: if Tories are threatening to withhold public investment from constituencies as a way of keeping MPs in line then, yes, that’s blackmail & intimidation – but it is also corruption. The moral decay at the heart of Johnson’s govt may be even worse than we thought.
Slorance widow: ‘No answers’ received from Sturgeon
Louise Slorance, widow of Andrew Slorance, says Sturgeon is not being honest about the real cause of his death in December 2020.
Nicola Sturgeon wrote to me 15 minutes before FMQs. I replied the same day. I still have no response to my letter…Myself, his children, family and friends, deserve better, we deserve answers…[It is] fruitless [to send her a letter]. I have had no contact regarding Andrew since this letter despite the assurance made by the FM that I will be kept updated. Since the circumstances around Andrew’s death became public, I have not received any answers to my questions regarding what happened at the QEUH from the Scottish Government or NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Scottish Government spokesman:
Ministers have been awaiting details to update Mrs Slorance and will be writing shortly. The NHS Lothian Peer Review has been examining the care and treatment received at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital as well as the communications Mrs Slorance and the family received from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. We expect the findings of the peer review to be shared with the family in the near future. We have offered to meet with Mrs Slorance to discuss the care provided to Mr Slorance and remain committed to doing so.
Lifts Omicron restrictions
During her First Minister’s statement in Holyrood, Sturgeon says that, as of Monday, January 24, the restrictions brought in just before Christmas to stem the rate of Omicron infections, will be lifted. This means an end to one-metre social distancing, the three-household limit for indoor meetings and nightclubs will be able to reopen. The intended extension of the use of vaccine passports has been cancelled but they will still be retained for large events. She says Omicron infections peaked the first week of January and along with hospital admissions the numbers are now dropping.
[I am] cautiously optimistic that we are turning the corner on this Omicron wave.
