Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 09 February 2022
I thought that that would be Jackie Baillie’s question. Yes, I will be supporting the amendment.
Alongside ensuring that adequate support is available, we must also publicise it, so that people know what they are entitled to. As I highlighted during the stage 1 debate, the Scottish Women’s Convention said in its submission:
“Of ... the women we spoke to, none of them had successfully accessed the Self-Isolation Support Grant or the Local Self-Isolation Assistance Service.”
Many women said that they had not heard of the scheme, and those who had heard of it did not think that they would be eligible. They also said:
“the application process can be daunting and confusing.”
That must be addressed urgently so that people can access the support that they are entitled to.
We know that the bill is a starting point. It aims to address a very specific issue and further pandemic-related legislation is undoubtedly needed. Like many other countries, we were unprepared for a global pandemic. We did not have appropriate legislation in place to help us to respond to that unprecedented situation. We must learn from this experience and ensure that we are better prepared in future. The Law Society of Scotland has recommended revision of
“the whole vista of emergency legislation”
as well as
“a law for emergencies ... that ... is flexible enough to meet every contingency.”—[Official Report, COVID-19 Recovery Committee, 2 December 2021; c 10.]
That is important work, which the Parliament must undertake. As hard as it may be to look to the next pandemic, given that we are still facing daily challenges related to Covid, we must take the learning from the past two years and ensure that we are better able to respond in future—wherever possible, without the need for emergency legislation.
Once again, I thank the public for self-isolating and for all the sacrifices that they have made to keep others safe.