Hansard

I thank members for their contributions and warm words. I hope that the debate has put a strong spotlight on one aspect of our Covid response, and I look forward to further scrutiny of the issue not just in the chamber but in the COVID-19 Committee, under Donald Cameron’s convenership.

It is right that we scrutinise the issue, because we have never had a full picture of the effectiveness of self-isolation or of the services and support that we are putting in place to help people to self-isolate. The cabinet secretary rightly said that 68 per cent of people have managed to self-isolate. In some ways, we can welcome that figure and thank those people for their efforts. That has been very difficult, particularly for those who have had to shield for a long period. Willie Coffey’s heartfelt contribution showed just how hard it has been, particularly for carers, to go into self-isolation and to shield.

However, the flip-side of that is the figure that I mentioned: the 32 per cent who have been unable to self-isolate. As Pauline McNeill said, some people are paddling, but others are waist deep and are really struggling. There is an element of fear for people about self-isolation and what might happen in their workplace and if they lose income.

The Scottish Government’s support package has evolved. The local assistance service started by working just with those who were shielding but is now available to everybody who needs to self-isolate, alongside a national helpline. We need to see how effective that service is. I make no criticism of the incredible work of council officers who are delivering the helpline alongside strong third sector partners, but we need to ensure that there is consistency across the country and that the work of the local assistance service is getting through to the people who desperately need support.

I welcome the cabinet secretary’s commitment to ensure, in conversation with COSLA, that the administration costs of running the service are fully met. All of us who have contact with our local authority colleagues know just how hard council workers are having to work at the moment and the stresses and strains that they are under. That is an important point.

Something is not quite happening on the accommodation side. Earlier, I highlighted the incredibly low uptake of the accommodation offer. I understand that, in Edinburgh, the figures show that, recently, only 1 per cent of those who have been in touch with the local assistance service have gone on to get further support. That is difficult to understand, given the inequality that exists in the city and the needs of people who are living with poverty and disadvantage. I have my doubts about whether the service and the support packages that we are putting in place are getting through to the people who desperately need them. I hope that I am wrong, but we need to provide more scrutiny on that.

The cabinet secretary mentioned a national media campaign. That would be very welcome. I have constituents who are genuinely unsure about what type of support they can get. I know of virtually nobody who believes that they can get hotel accommodation through the existing arrangements. In theory, I think that people can, but it is not clear whether someone who lives in a two-bedroom flat that three or four people live in can get hotel accommodation. There is an issue with the messaging.

In addition, as has been mentioned, there are barriers to accessing the grant. Up to now, there has been only a 10-day window. Some people who have been ill have missed that window and have been turned down for the grant. The extension to 28 days makes a lot of sense. There is also an element of digital exclusion, as Mark Griffin mentioned and Citizens Advice Scotland has discussed. People who are self-isolating cannot get outside the house, so they will need a computer or an iPhone or whatever to send in the evidence that is needed in order to apply for the grant. Every time we impose such a requirement, we put up a barrier. Every time we do that, we make it harder.

I think that I have one minute left. The Presiding Officer has confirmed that. In that time, I want to talk about employers.

Mark Griffin and Patrick Harvie spoke about irresponsible employers. The STUC is right—bad work kills. It kills every day, but it kills even more in a pandemic. Bad employers are making implied threats to their workforce, which means that they are unable to do the right thing.

However, there are good employers. There is a very good employer near where I stay in Stirling called Recyke-a-bike, which is a social enterprise. It does not have as much income coming in as it would like to pay beyond statutory sick pay; it is also in a business in which the work cannot be done at home, which makes things difficult. Recyke-a-bike has called me repeatedly to ask for the eligibility criteria to be extended to beyond the real living wage so that more of its staff can be captured, they can get the support that they need and they do not need to choose between isolating and eating.

I welcome the fact that progress has been made this week. In effect, eligibility has been extended to another 200,000 people in Scotland, which is welcome progress, but a lot more than 200,000 people are in in-work poverty, and we need to focus on them. We need to put in place the most robust package possible in the world to ensure that they can do the right thing, isolate when they need to and be supported in doing that.