Hansard

I would like to hear the answer to my question: will the cabinet secretary meet the unions to discuss targeted support? Will he also tell the Parliament, and more importantly those workers, when his targeted group discussions will begin? He promised those in July and, so far, we have heard absolutely nothing.

The unions, airports and members want to work with the Government to find solutions, but frankly, we need the cabinet secretary to step up to the mark. The cabinet secretary also says in his amendment, in response to Labour’s call for an urgent review of the existing quarantine system, that the Government will explore alternatives. I welcome that but again the question is when that will happen, because the current quarantine system is simply not fit for purpose.

The current system is a crude attempt at a travel ban that is reliant on deterring people from travelling, but it fails as a public health measure by not picking up whether anyone who enters Scotland has Covid-19. It does not do enough to ensure that those people do not then spread the virus, because it fails to robustly enforce quarantine. The most recent Public Health Scotland statistical report shows that less than 5 per cent of those who are required to quarantine under the existing rules are actually being properly contacted.

A recent UK-wide study highlighted by Professor Linda Bauld at the COVID-19 Committee suggested that only a quarter of those who had been advised to self-isolate were doing so comprehensively, and no wonder as the Government’s approach to quarantine has been half-hearted. The First Minister said at her daily press conference on 10 May:

“We expect confirmation tonight of a period of quarantine for people travelling into the UK. I have made it clear that I believe this is vital to our efforts to contain the virus in the period ahead, and I would encourage the UK Government to introduce it as soon as possible.”

Yet, when I asked the health secretary in a parliamentary question when the Government first began discussions with the Home Office on accessing the information that they would need to check whether someone entering the country was quarantining, the answer eventually came back that that was on 8 June—a month after the First Minister’s comments, and after quarantining had begun. It took a further two weeks until 24 June before that process even began.

We need a new approach that puts public health and a rigorous testing regime at its heart. In Germany, Italy, France, Greece and other countries, testing is part of the process for people who are entering. In Iceland, travellers are tested on arrival and again on day five of their quarantine. That is a system that protects public health by ensuring that each country knows whether someone entering has Covid-19, and it supports the economy by reducing the quarantine period.

Too often, health and supporting our economy during Covid-19 have been treated as if they were two conflicting priorities, but the reality is that our economic recovery relies on keeping the virus under control. Efforts to boost our economy at the expense of public health will be self-defeating. That is why it is important to find measures that support both. If we do not support our economy and do more to prevent thousands of job losses, the health impact on thousands of families will be immeasurable.

Why are we not properly considering airport and follow-up testing as an option in Scotland? Well, Professor Linda Bauld gave the game away when she told the COVID-19 Committee last week that

“The bigger reason why we do not yet have airport testing is to do with infrastructure.”—[Official Report, COVID-19 Committee, 9 September 2020; c 14.]

We are compromising public health and putting jobs at risk because of the failure to put in place a robust testing infrastructure.

Now is the time for action. It is time to work with the aviation sector, trade unions and all stakeholders to urgently agree a support package for Scotland’s aviation. It is time to ensure that that package puts protecting jobs, working conditions and support for a just transition to a green economy front and centre. It is time to replace a quarantine system that is not fit for purpose with one that puts protecting public health and testing at its very centre. We have the opportunity to come together as a Parliament and send a united message to Scotland’s workers: we are listening to you and are on your side.

I move,

That the Parliament recognises the profound impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on aviation in continuing to deliver its vital role in international transportation and keeping Scotland’s remote and islands communities connected; expresses concern at the risk of further widespread job losses in aviation and in connected sectors such as tourism; notes the importance of government measures such as the job retention scheme to aviation businesses; recognises the need for the Scottish and UK governments to provide direct support to the sector through this period to protect jobs and secure a just transition to a green economy; calls on the Scottish Government to work with the aviation sector and the relevant trade unions in Scotland to agree on a specific package of support for the industry; believes that this support, and any future financial support, must include protections for jobs and working conditions, and assist long-term changes within the sector to tackle the climate emergency and ensure a sustainable future, and calls for an urgent review of the existing quarantine system and for the Scottish Government to bring forward options for a robust regime of airport testing on arrival with follow-up testing at home that places protecting public health at the centre, including supporting evidence and mechanisms for any proposal to safely reduce the quarantine period.