Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, is urgently seeking answers from NHS Highland about the outbreak of Coronavirus at Home Farm care home on Skye.
Mrs Grant contacted NHS Highland as early as March 26 after a constituent, who had relatives in a care home, asked about the general protocol if residents were to be kept out of hospital and have appropriate treatment as well as palliative care where required.
Questions were asked about protective equipment, oxygen and other necessary supplies for care homes, plus the recruitment of additional staff for care homes and particularly more staff qualified to deal with the health complications of the virus.
“I raised this because of people’s fear that an incident like this could happen and I am so distressed to see such a serious situation on Skye,” said Mrs Grant.
“There are urgent questions that need to be answered, including about testing and tracing on the island, especially with reports that a case of Covid-19 was previously found in Broadford.
“Why weren’t families, residents and staff informed and tested then and when it comes to Home Farm, why did the virus spread so quickly to so many and why was there not earlier mass testing?
“In the meantime, my thoughts are with staff and residents on Skye, both at the care home and in the wider community.”
Mrs Grant said she welcomed the fact that a mobile testing unit was being dispatched to the island and urged people to stick to the advice, to stay at home apart from the exceptions laid out in the regulations: daily exercise, shopping for necessities, animal welfare or medical need.
“Scottish Labour has pressed for a proper contingency plan for Scotland’s crisis hit care homes and an expansion of testing to the level advised by the WHO,” she added. “This Government cannot continue to let the most vulnerable in our society down. We must test, trace and isolate to stop this virus spreading.”
MSP Rhoda Grant is calling on government and industry to mitigate the devastating double blow to the oil and gas industry.
It follows a report out this week warning of 30,000 job losses unless action is not taken to help the sector weather the storm.
The paper by Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) says with more than half of the world’s population under some form of lockdown due to COVID-19,
industrial output has plummeted, and energy demand has collapsed.
It predicts the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic “will likely be a legacy felt for decades” and there are real fears the supply chain capabilities developed over decades will be destroyed.
OGUK now expects that more than half of companies will defer at least half of their activities originally planned for 2020.
Mrs Grant said now is the time for industry to work with the Scottish and UK governments to renew the commitment to a just, inclusive and sustainable transition to a low carbon economy – harnessing and safeguarding the skills base of the oil and gas sector.
In the immediate term, Mrs Grant is supporting efforts to secure the wages of oil workers whose jobs are at risk of being slashed within weeks.
She said: “I am in touch right now with industry leaders and I am supporting my North East Labour MSP colleague Lewis MacDonald’s work at a national level to secure the salaries in the short term for hundreds of oil workers through the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme, which allows businesses to claim state money for employee salaries.
“Under the scheme, employers can apply for cash grants online and put employees on furlough, meaning their job is put on hold and they do not work, but they are still employed. The state then finances 80 per cent of furloughed employees’ salaries, up to £2,500 per month. It is vital that these wages are secured even if only in the short term.”
Mrs Grant said some companies with workers on redundancy risk were clearly of the opinion that they are inhibited from the salary payment scheme. This is because they know they do not have any realistic prospect of having work for our their “at risk” employees at the end of the current phase of the lockdown restrictions. The position is their circumstances do not allow them to apply for funding.
Mrs Grant said: “I am arguing that this is a misreading of the terms of the scheme, and that they should use this Coronavirus Job Retention scheme to delay redundancy. Workers can be furloughed now, then made redundant later, if the furlough period is at least three consecutive weeks. It is vital for those families that we get the right outcome on this.”
She added: “The report by OGUK says action needs to be taken now to utilise the skills, technologies and capabilities within the oil and gas industry in a way that can help drive the UK towards achieving its net-zero ambitions.
“Diversification into new business areas can provide many companies with new opportunities to offset the declines that are currently being seen in the oil and gas industry.
“The UK’s oil and gas supply chain provides us with a huge competitive advantage. If the UK does not maintain an active and diversified energy sector, we will see other countries move in to benefit from the investment in new energies over the decades to come.”
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, said it was disappointing but not unexpected that the TSB bank will not be reversing its decision to close its Tain branch in June.
Mrs Grant wrote to the company in the light of the Clydesdale bank saying that its Dingwall branch had been given a stay of execution due to the Coronavirus crisis. She had written to the TSB in November last year after concerned constituents contacted her about the Tain closure.
This time the TSB told the MSP: “We have not taken the decision lightly having reviewed a range of factors on the viability of the branch and in ensuring that we are able to continue to support our customers in Tain to bank with us after the closure.
“I appreciate your concerns on the impact this will have on the local community, particularly given the ongoing Coronavirus crisis which has seen an even lower level of footfall in the branch and an uplift in customers registering for online and mobile banking.”
Mrs Grant added: “It is such a pity that banks will not invest in local communities, especially at a time when people will probably be staying local much more and for the foreseeable future.
“As both Governments keep telling us conquering Coronavirus will be a marathon and not a sprint and I was hoping that banks could see some worth in keeping staff and customers in smaller areas.”
TSB said it was contacting customers to help them use other banking options, including telephone and digital and working with the Post Office to ensure there was still access to banking services.
The bank added: “We’re also supporting personal and business banking customers impacted by Coronavirus through additional lending and loan repayment holidays and we remain the only bank to offer customers a Fraud Refund Guarantee, which protects innocent customers against all types of transactional fraud loss.”
Mrs Grant wrote to the Clydesdale bank, which has now merged with Virgin Money, asking about the future of its Dingwall branch given that it said it would not be preceding with closure “until further notice” due to recognition of the impact of Covid 19 and uncertainty.
Last year she had a meeting with bank officials about proposed closures.
The MSP asked if there was further information as to what would happen to the Dingwall branch, for instance whether it would still close this year.
“I did ask if it would consider the branch’s long-term future given that even if Coronavirus restrictions are lessened then there may indeed be more local footfall for shops and services. This wasn’t answered.
“Although I welcome the reprieve, I fear this will be a temporary measure to suit the bank’s current predicament but I’m hoping to be proved wrong.”
Clydesdale added: “This latest decision comes on top of numerous measures to protect colleague and customer health and wellbeing at this time. Our priority is to continue providing services for our customers, while keeping colleagues safe. These are unprecedented times and we continue to review what further action we can take to support our customers, communities and colleagues.”
Highlands & Islands MSP Rhoda Grant has issued a fresh call on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to make further changes to his Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which allows businesses to claim state money for employee salaries.
Under the scheme, employers can apply for cash grants online and put employees on furlough, meaning their job is put on hold and they do not work, but they are still employed.
The state then finances 80 per cent of furloughed employees’ salaries, up to £2,500 per month.
Earlier this month, rushed changes were made to expand eligibility after it emerged many thousands of people who recently switched jobs could not apply under current guidelines.
The qualifying date for when an employee must have been on the employer’s payroll was changed from 28 February 2020 to 19 March 2020.
The government said this would mean hundreds of thousands of people would now be eligible.
However, many people say they remain shut out of the scheme.
Mrs Grant said constituents she is supporting are among them.
In her letter to the chancellor today she said: “The changes you made gave thousands of people hope, at least until they read the small print and realised there is a new loophole.
“The employee’s pay information had to have been submitted to HMRC by March 19th. This was unrealistic and was underlined by the chief executive of HMRC days ago who told the BBC that most employers will pay their employees at the end of the month.
“This means people who moved jobs at the end of February or the beginning of March cannot, in most cases, expect their information to be processed by their new employer and submitted to HMRC until the end of the month.
“This is no victory. Please step up and rectify this and allow people who are starting new jobs to qualify for this furlough scheme. The HMRC and Treasury can validate proof of employment to ensure these applications are not fraudulent.”
It is the second time this month that Mrs Grant has raised the issue in writing with the chancellor.
She said: “These people have been left disappointed and angry. They have worked for years without any interruption. They have never asked for anything from the government and now, the one time they need it, the help is not there. This is a national scandal. I would urge the chancellor to step in now and bring these people into the scheme.”
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, has been told that NHS Highland is developing a model which will help care home staff during the Covid 19 pandemic.
Mrs Grant has now received a response from the health authority after last week criticising it for a lack of information on how care home residents and staff can be protected during the Coronavirus crisis.
NHS Highland’s Interim Chief Executive, Paul Hawkins, apologised for the delay but said he recognised “the vulnerability of this section of society” particularly during the pandemic.
He continued: “NHS Highland is developing a model of care which will see nurses and allied health care professionals supported by medical colleagues to work with existing care home staff and where appropriate supplement care home staff,” said Mr Hawkins.
“They also provide a higher level of supportive care to enable the older person to be cared for in their own home.”
The Interim Chief Executive stressed this was in the planning phase but continued: “this will not replace the requirement for acute hospital care should any person suffering from Covid or any other illness require this level of intervention in a hospital setting”.
Mrs Grant said: “This is a welcome move and I do hope its implementation can be brought in as soon as possible.
“Nationally, recorded coronavirus-related deaths in care homes make-up a third of the overall number of deaths and that is worryingly high.
“There has also been some reassurance that levels of personal protective equipment are being monitored and I hope that care homes and other health services in our region are finding adequate supplies.”
The letter said it was important that care homes were supported to provide end of life care and outlined efforts that were being made with help from Highland Hospice, Marie Curie and Macmillan.
Additional purchase of equipment including syringe drivers to administer medication to people in the last stages of life, as well as a range of supportive resources for unpaid carers and welfare support for staff, were in the process of being made available for community and care homes settings.
NHS Highland said staffing levels and the availability of personal protective equipment for care homes was monitored daily and the board medical and nurse director plus the director of social care had been working together on the deployment of a care home support team.
Mrs Grant contacted NHS Highland as early as March 26 after a constituent, who had relatives in a care home, asked about the protocol if residents were to be kept out of hospital and have appropriate treatment as well as palliative care where required.
Questions were asked about protective equipment, oxygen and other necessary supplies for care homes, plus the recruitment of additional staff for care homes and particularly more staff qualified to deal with the health complications of the virus.
The constituent, who wanted to remain anonymous, lived in Inverness but had relatives out-with the region.
Mrs Grant last week raised her frustration at not receiving any reply from NHS Highland, while recognising the difficult times for the health authority, for front-line staff and for the Scottish Government, lack of information was frustrating and unsettling, especially for those who have loved ones in care.
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant is supporting the EIS-FELA members, plus many in the community, who are calling on Shetland Islands Council to ensure that publicly funded education is kept in public hands, to provide long-term quality education and stability for students.
Shetland Isles Council meets tomorrow to decide on the basis for the merger of Shetland colleges.
The EIS is not against the merger in principle of Shetland College, Train Shetland and the North Atlantic Fisheries College Marine Centre.
However the recommendation from those behind the merger is that this new college is a private company limited by guarantee.
The EIS has told the MSP this would be the first time in Scotland that a college has been transferred from public ownership and control into a private company.
“I believe that education should remain in public hands and support today’s 12noon virtual rally by members and the community,” said Mrs Grant.
“There is real concern and unease in the community that the new merged college will be privatised.
“The new merged college will be funded predominantly from public funds and therefore needs to be subject to democratic public accountability and the scrutiny of Audit Scotland, in line with public sector finance requirements.”
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, has strongly criticised the Scottish Government and NHS Highland for lack of information on how care home residents and staff can be protected during the Coronavirus crisis.
Mrs Grant contacted NHS Highland’s Interim Chief Executive, Paul Hawkins, as early as March 26 after a constituent, who had relatives in a care home, asked about the protocol if residents were to be kept out of hospital and have appropriate treatment such as palliative care.
Questions were asked about protective equipment, oxygen and other necessary supplies for care homes, plus the recruitment of additional staff and particularly more qualified staff for care homes.
The constituent, who wants to remain anonymous, lives in Inverness but has relatives out-with the region.
This week she told the MSP: “Why have we seen television images of a care home in Northern Ireland where staff are adequately kitted out, and where staff temperatures are taken before shifts, when it is clear that care home staff in Scotland come far down the pecking order in prevention of this killer virus that is among us?
“Agency staff being used to fill vacancies should each be based only in one home – not moved around. The Government needs to fund this. Similarly, to avoid the spread of infection in the community, there must be continuity of carers for those requiring care in their own homes. None of this is happening. Nor has it ever been so.
“The crisis of the Coronavirus leaves us in a position of putting sticking plasters on gaping holes in care provision.”
Mrs Grant explained that, until this week, there was no system of raising urgent inquiries from constituency MSPs, with the Scottish Parliament in recess and emails to Cabinet Secretaries and Minsters taking weeks to be answered.
“These were all valid concerns raised by my constituent, speaking no doubt for many in our area, which then came into sharp focus when the tragic deaths at Burlington Court Care Home in Glasgow came to light,” said Mrs Grant.
“I realise these are difficult times for the health authority, for front-line staff and for the Scottish Government, but the lack of information on serious concerns such as these is frustrating and unsettling, especially for those who have loved ones in care.
“I am hoping these questions can be urgently addressed. However, in the longer term, the way society views carers has to change, solidifying their position as key workers who need to be valued.”
Mrs Grant put down a Parliamentary Question along the same lines as the request to NHS Highland, however this will not be answered until May 4.
To ask the Scottish Government what protocols it has put in place for care homes in response to the COVID-19 outbreak; what action it is taking to ensure that the homes (a) are providing appropriate palliative care and (b) have sufficient protective equipment, oxygen and other essential supplies, and how it is supporting them with the recruitment of additional staff where required.
Current Status: Expected Answer date 04/05/2020
Posted on
Rhoda Grant is asking the Chancellor to rewrite the rules of the scheme which has left tens of thousands of people through no fault of their own without a source of income.
Highlands & Islands MSP Rhoda Grant is calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to put an end to his punishment of new start employees.
Rhoda Grant, who is Scottish Labour’s shadow finance minster, is asking for changes to be made to the guidelines of the HM Treasury’s Job Retention Scheme which was unveiled by the Chancellor to help business deal with Coronavirus.
It was designed to cover the cost of paying for millions of people who were suddenly left without work when businesses shut down in an attempt to slow the spread of the pandemic.
Companies can use the scheme to pay their staff 80% of their wages – up to £2,500 a month. But the Treasury says qualifying employees must be registered on the company’s PAYE system by 28 February to limit the possibility of fraud. This means those who were switching jobs at this time have fallen through the cracks, potentially facing months without a salary because their new employer cannot apply for the wages grants.
Employees who were on payroll on 28 February but have since left that job for whatever reason (i.e. not just redundancy) can be re-employed by their old employer and placed on furlough, similar to gardening leave, and be paid 80% of their wages – up to £2,500.
However, previous employers are under no obligation to do this.
Rhoda Grant said: “I have written to the chancellor calling on him to put an end to his unfair punishment of workers whose only wrongdoing was to chose to change jobs and move forward in their careers before the economic consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic was known.
The chancellor must amend these rules to ensure that no one is left behind. As the scheme stands it discriminates against those who changed their job and leaves them dependant on a previous employer for their income. The campaign against the Treasury on this issue is colossal. It cannot be ignored.”
Ends
Editor’s note:
April 7: Scottish Labour Party Press Office news
NEWS FROM SCOTTISH LABOUR
IMMEDIATE
CHANCELLOR MUST STOP FAILING NEW START EMPLOYEES – LEONARD
This morning Scottish Labour Leader Richard Leonard has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, to demand action over new start employees being failed by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme implemented by the Chancellor.
Funding should be available to support those who began new jobs after the 28th of February.
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard writes: “I have been contacted by a number of constituents who, through simple circumstance, will be ineligible because their start date in their current job falls after 28th February.”
He continues: “Whilst I understand and appreciate the need to put in place rules that minimise the opportunity for the scheme to be abused by unscrupulous employers, and I recognise the speed with which it was created, I believe there are other checking mechanisms that can be deployed that would ensure that those who began new jobs after the cut-off point could be included in the scheme.”
Highlighting the unfairness of this situation, Mr Leonard states: “The Treasury will have records of tax and NI paid prior to the 28th February by these individuals and their previous employers and will enable them to identify those that have moved employment at the critical period … in my view, leaving workers who changed jobs out of this scheme through no fault of their own is simply not acceptable.”
Concluding, Mr Leonard says: “I hope you will be able to give this your urgent consideration and bring forward changes to provide support to a small but important number of working people.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
The full text of the letter from Richard Leonard to Rishi Sunak can be seen below
Dear Chancellor of the Exchequer
Re: Job Retention Scheme – COVID -19
I am writing in relation to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the impact being felt by employees who began new jobs after 28th February who are ineligible under the current rules. I have been contacted by a number of constituents who, through simple circumstance, will be ineligible because their start date in their current job falls after 28th February.
Whilst I understand and appreciate the need to put in place rules that minimise the opportunity for the scheme to be
abused by unscrupulous employers, and I recognise the speed with which it was created, I believe there are other checking mechanisms that can be deployed that would ensure that those who began new jobs after the cut-off point could be included in the scheme.
The Treasury will have records of tax and NI paid prior to the 28th February by these individuals and their previous employers and will enable them to identify those that have moved employment at the critical period. I recognise this will increase the burden of work on the Treasury and the DWP but, in my view, leaving workers who changed jobs out of this scheme through no fault of their own is simply not acceptable.
I am sure officials in the Treasury will be able to consider this and identify other mechanisms that would enable this group of workers to qualify for the scheme alongside their colleagues.
I hope you will be able to give this your urgent consideration and bring forward changes to provide support to a small but important number of working people.
Yours sincerely
Richard Leonard MSP
Leader – Scottish Labour Party
Sent by email from the Scottish Labour Party, promoted by Michael Sharpe, Scottish General Secretary, on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party, both at 290 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4RE.
A Highlands and Islands Labour MSP has questioned the Scottish Government on the rights of workers who feel they are being asked to do non-essential work during the coronavirus crisis.
Rhoda Grant asked the Culture, Tourism and External Affairs Secretary, Fiona Hyslop, for advice for workers when the Scottish Parliament met yesterday to push through the Coronavirus Scotland Bill.
She asked: “The Cabinet Secretary will be aware that the STUC highlighted food and drink sector companies who are playing fast and loose with concept of essential work and this is true for other sectors as well as including some government agencies.
“What redress do workers have who don’t view their work as essential, whose health is being put at risk because they are being forced to come in to work and have been told if they don’t their jobs will be at risk?”
Ms Hyslop replied there were businesses which might be considered part of an essential sector, but not all businesses within that sector would be essential.
She asked employers themselves to think carefully about what they were doing, appealing to staff to tell unions or managers if they felt discomfort.
She gave as an example whisky distilling where the product might not be being used for three years, questioning whether that was essential at this time to supply supermarkets for food and drink.
She added: “We are calling for those businesses that are not essential to close on a precautionary basis in order to make sure that they are safe.
“The recommendation is they close unless and until they can give evidence to everybody including their staff and the unions that they can do that safely.
“The way to reopen is also to work safely with their staff and at the appropriate time when they can reopen for the safety of the country they can do so in a way that everybody has confidence in. And that is our very, very strong message to those employers. We cannot force this but it a very strong steer.”
Afterwards, Mrs Grant said that she, and her Labour MSP colleague, David Stewart, had received a number of inquiries from workers in the region questioning whether their jobs were essential and concerned for their health.
“Many workers feel there is no clarity about who can work and who can’t and it is causing some great stress,” she said.
“We have taken up a number of cases and contacted employers in the area and so far have had assurances from companies complained about that they are essential and they are taking precautions.
“Workers do feel they have nowhere to turn if they are worried and while there are good companies treating their employees well, there will be those who are trying to flout the rules.
“Like the Cabinet Secretary, I would appeal to all employers to think very carefully about the wellbeing of their workers at this difficult time.”
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, has been advised by the government’s national transport agency, Transport Scotland, that work is being carried out to reinstate electronic signage close to the A9 Munlochy junction.
Mrs Grant contacted the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson, about the matter after she received representation from a local constituent whose family use the road frequently. The MSP has received a reply from Transport Scotland advising that the signs were initially installed as a mitigation measure against the likely build-up of traffic on the A9 as a result of housing development in the area. The transport agency confirmed that the signs worked initially and then a problem with the battery power supply emerged, followed by a weak communication link between the control box and the signs but BEAR Scotland and the sign suppliers are now working to resolve the issue.
Mrs Grant said “Local constituents have contacted me with a number of suggested safety improvements for the junction but Transport Scotland has advised that many of the suggestions would require detailed design and, in the case of a permanent speed limit reduction, a statutory public consultation, and are therefore not something that could be delivered in the short term.
“A study to consider the safety and operation of the section of dual carriageway between the Kessock Bridge and the Tore roundabout is being undertaken but any proposals from this would then be prioritised alongside other safety schemes in the North West Unit.
“However, reinstating the electronic warning signage appears to be a possibility and I welcome this intervention by Transport Scotland in trying to make the junction safer.”
Mrs Grant concluded “It was intended to have the work undertaken on the signage in March and early April however, I am seeking clarification if this has been delayed due to restrictions in place over the coronavirus.
“I thank the local constituents who have taken the time to put their thoughts to me and I am pleased that Transport Scotland has been willing to investigate the different safety measures which have been suggested by people who live locally. I will be keeping in touch with Transport Scotland on this.”
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, is urgently seeking answers from NHS Highland about the outbreak of Coronavirus at Home Farm care home on Skye.
