What the Scottish Government will do in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic

The Scottish Government says it ‘must learn from past mistakes’ over the coronavirus pandemic.

The Scottish Government is to update the public every three years on its preparations for another potential pandemic from now on.

A new ministerial group has also been set up to draw up the plans, which will meet for the first time in the next few weeks.

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Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the Government “must learn from past mistakes” to make sure it is ready for another civil emergency like a pandemic.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and First Minister John Swinney.Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and First Minister John Swinney.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and First Minister John Swinney. | Jane Barlow/Press Association

This comes as the Government publishes its response to module one of the UK Covid-19 inquiry, which focused on the pandemic resilience and preparedness.

Ms Forbes said: “Given the importance of transparency around the actions we are taking to manage civil emergencies, we will also report to this Parliament every three years on the improvements we make to emergency resilience and preparedness in Scotland.

“The first report will be laid before this Parliament in September of this year and I look forward to seeing the progress made.”

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Scottish ministers will now work with the UK government and the Welsh and Northern Irish governments on a four-nation approach to future pandemic planning. Ms Forbes said the actions recommended by the inquiry meant Scotland would be able to respond better to “a range of risks and threats”.

This includes increasing the national stockpile of PPE and creating up-to-date health data.

A group co-chaired by Health Secretary Neil Gray and Home Affairs Secretary Angela Constance has also been created, and is due to meet “in the coming weeks” to start co-ordinating Scotland’s preparedness.

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This group is expected to meet twice a year and will “receive and commission advice from a supporting programme board on matters such as capabilities assessments, resourcing and policy choices about integration with UK and international activities”.

A separate group of senior government officials has also been set up to “lead and co-ordinate work on preparedness for and resilience to a wide range of civil emergencies”.

There will also be a UK-wide pandemic response exercise in the autumn to test the UK’s preparedness for another pandemic, which Ms Forbes said Scotland would “play a full role in”.

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