A Week in Parliament

Covi-19 Restrictions 

There is no doubt that action was needed in Scotland regards the ongoing rise of covid-19 cases. I suspect most of us now know someone who has either contracted covid-19 or someone that has had to self-isolate because they have had contact with someone who has contracted covid-19. That to me shows the scale of the problem now.  

Also, the number of daily cases has been over 1200. That’s 100x the rate recorded each day in July, and also a doubling of the infection rate in less than two weeks. The World Health Organisation states that with a robust testing schedule, if less than 5% of the people tested are positive then the virus is under control. In Scotland, the daily rate is roughly 15% so that is a major indicator of the scale of the problem. Not to mention that sadly several people are dying once more on a near daily basis.  

In England, the scale of the problem is much worse for most of the country. The key question should be not why are the Scottish Government introducing further restrictions but why has Westminster been so slow? These additional measures have been put in place in many countries in Europe, so Scotland is not exactly an outlier. Indeed, yet again, it is the Tory Government who is the outlier. I feel really sorry for the hospitality trade, who have worked so hard to put protocols in place to keep people safe. However, when so much of the population are infected with covid-19, then even with best practice in place, the risk of spread is still there. By the time this column is read, I am hoping that the Westminster Government has followed suit and is making more money available to support business requiring to close. This is the other problem in Scotland – the Scottish Government is not allowed to borrow money. So, it makes it much harder to put localised support in place. At Westminster I have highlighted this issue. I have challenged the Health Secretary and the Chancellor to both consider the provision of support for areas needing localised restrictions (including English regions) and to allow the Scottish Government to borrow money to support local public health measures.  

So again, I plead, stick with the guidance. It is the only way to defeat the disease.  

Horizon Post Office Scandal 

I was pleased to hear that the Scottish Criminal Case Review is looking into the Horizon Post Office scandal where postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for theft that never took place. It was all the fault of the Post Office IT system. I started to get a real understanding of this and how it has blighted people’s lives through an enquiry the BEIS Committee started undertaking. Unfortunately, because it landed back in the English court system, the enquiry has had to be suspended. However, people have been wrongly jailed; some went bankrupt and there were even suicides. Meanwhile the Post Office covered up their failings and those at the top have all moved on to other jobs. An unbelievable scandal.