³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Mr Rowley should never say never in relation to the crowds that might appear at Kelty Hearts.

The Government has looked at the evidence base and the wider issues around participation in events. I accept that, on all these questions, there will be different opinions and contested opinions. We have looked at the information in the round to satisfy ourselves that the approach has the potential to provide us with greater levels of participation in the vaccination programme and to further incentivise individuals, particularly those in younger groups, to take up vaccination. We have to balance that against the likelihood that, if we do not take action to further improve vaccination levels, we might have to take action at a later stage that could lead to the application of further restrictions. The Government is keen to enlist the support and participation of members of the public in helping us to avoid getting to that position. Having looked at the balance of evidence on the question, we have concluded that this would be an effective way of strengthening population-wide resistance to the virus through maximising the uptake of the vaccination.

In the immediate term, we have to ensure that we take the necessary steps in relation to international travel that are appropriate to tackling Covid. These issues are the subject of controversy; I have read a lot of commentary from people who tell us that we have been far too restrictive on international travel at different stages of the pandemic. I do not think that the United Kingdom has been strict enough, but these are difficult issues to wrestle with.

We will have to address the whole question of the scale and nature of air travel and the environmental issues that come with it as part of the measures to tackle climate change. That will be a wider policy process in which Government is involved, and it will be at the heart of the decisions around COP26 in Glasgow later this year.

All societies will have to wrestle with that question, but the immediate challenge that we face is to ensure that we take the correct approach on international travel in a way that is commensurate with the steps that we need to take to suppress Covid within the population as effectively as we can.

I expect that to be the case, convener, although we are in a period where I would hope that we are not in the position of applying any further restrictions. I hope that, in the future, there will be fewer occasions when it will be necessary to come to the committee for regulatory change of that type. However, I want to maintain the protocols that were in place before. Dominic Munro, who is online with me, might want to add to that.

The difference and distinction are in the greater degree of physical participation beyond what would be considered routine elements of everyday human function, such as walking.

No, convener.

There are discussions under way with the United Kingdom Government and the United Nations about the arrangements for accessing COP26. Many of these issues are the subject of active discussion with the authorities who are running COP26 to ensure that we have the appropriate arrangements in place.

I will make some remarks on the Scottish statutory instruments, six of which amended the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 (SSI 2020/344). The six instruments made various adjustments to the levels rules that were in place at the time and were then removed when we moved beyond level 0 on 9 August. In order to assist the committee, I will run through the changes made by the regulations.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Amendment (No 27) Regulations 2021, which came into force on 11 June, made provision for local authority officers to have a power of entry in relation to restrictions on stadia and events. The regulations also adjusted the physical distancing requirements in place at Hampden stadium and at Glasgow Green during the Union of European Football Associations championship.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Amendment (No 28) Regulations 2021 removed travel restrictions in relation to the Republic of Ireland and Bedford in England, and introduced travel restrictions in relation to travel to and from Manchester and Salford. Those regulations came into force on 18 June.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Amendment (No 29) Regulations 2021 came into force on 26 and 28 June and made a number of changes including adjusting physical distancing requirements at funerals and for an event at Murrayfield, extending hospitality opening hours for the knockout stages of the Euros and adjusting the face covering rules at weddings and civil partnerships.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Amendment (No 30) Regulations 2021 removed all travel restrictions in relation to Bolton, Manchester and Salford on 30 June.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Amendment (No 31) Regulations 2021 adjusted the physical distancing requirements at the Scottish Open golf championship and removed travel restrictions in relation to Blackburn and Darwen. Those regulations came into force on 8 July.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Amendment (No 32) Regulations 2021 came into force on 19 July. The regulations moved all of Scotland into level 0 and made various adjustments to the levels regulations. Physical distancing requirements were reduced to 1m indoors and outdoors. The regulations also removed the requirement for physical distancing between people in a gathering of up to 15 people outdoors. They provided that children under the age of 12 years did not count for the purpose of calculating the number of households permitted for gatherings indoors, and altered hospitality trading times at level 0.

As the committee knows, we were able to move beyond level 0 on 9 August. At that point, baseline measures were put in place in the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, which set out four sets of legal requirements as baseline measures.

First, relevant hospitality and entertainment premises are required to obtain and record customer information for a period of at least 21 days for the purpose of preventing the spread of coronavirus or monitoring the spread of infection and the incidence of coronavirus disease.

Secondly, the regulations require persons responsible for places of worship, carrying on a business or providing a service to have regard to relevant guidance issued by the Scottish ministers and available on the Scottish Government website about measures to minimise risk of exposure to coronavirus.

Thirdly, the regulations also provide that people in specified indoor places and on public transport must wear a face covering unless a specific exemption applies.

Finally, the regulations cap numbers at live events at 5,000 people for events held outdoors and at 2,000 people for events held indoors, subject to local authority approval of higher attendance limits. The Scottish ministers are also provided with powers to call in applications for exemption from capacity.

The new regulations, like the previous levels regulations, provide for enforcement of the requirements. The new regulations also provide that the requirements must be reviewed at least once every 21 days and that the Scottish ministers must revoke any requirement as soon as it is no longer necessary. The first review had to take place by 30 August. The regulations remain in force, but we are keeping the requirements under review.

Finally, I inform the committee that the Scottish Government’s report on the Coronavirus (Extension and Expiry) (Scotland) Act 2021 will be laid before the Parliament tomorrow. That will fulfil the requirement in sections 5 and 7 of the act to lay a one-off report before the Scottish Parliament one month after the act has received royal assent.

I am happy to answer any questions that the committee may have about the regulations.

The committee may well have to consider SSIs on the issue. Obviously, the purpose of a plenary debate is to seek parliamentary approval in principle for the approach that the Government is taking, in recognition of the very different and distinctive character of the decision, but any other requirements for legislative provision or enforcement will require to come to the committee and to the Delegated Powers and Legislative Reform Committee. The Government will fulfil all requirements in that respect.

I cannot answer today as to whether the emergency procedure will be required, but I will answer when we have come to conclusions on that point, and we will advise the committee of that.

It is important that we constantly revisit the messaging on the whole issue of Covid to ensure that it is achieving its purpose. I think that, in general, over the course of the pandemic, Government communications have been very effective and very focused in getting the message across. Particularly for younger people, we must ensure that good, strong evidence is available to them about the dangers to which they are exposed as a consequence of Covid. The committee has discussed and Parliament has extensively discussed long Covid, which could be a very serious factor in younger people’s lives.

The most important thing is that we have to ensure that we properly and fully address the issues and perspectives of young people in identifying how we can most effectively communicate such a message and ensure that young people are persuaded that they are as much at risk from Covid as other members of our society are. It is important that we do not have a message that suggests anything other than that young people face significant risks as a consequence of the virus.

Thank you.