Covid recovery: a consultation on public health, public services and justice system reforms

Closed 9 Nov 2021

Opened 17 Aug 2021

Contact

ceu@gov.scot

Feedback updated 31 Aug 2022

We asked

In the Scottish Government’s consultation paper "Covid recovery: a consultation on public health, public services and justice system reforms” we asked for your views on our review of the impact of Covid on the Scottish statute book: removing measures no longer needed in order to be able to respond to the Covid pandemic; keeping those where there is demonstrable benefit to the people of Scotland; and considering what new provisions might be made.

Specifically the 12 week full public consultation held between 17 August and 9 November 2021 sought views on:

  • Proposals for greater public health resilience, to protect Scotland against future public health threats;
  • Proposals for public services and justice system reform, to ensure that the benefits of practical modernisations put in place during the pandemic are maintained; and
  • Proposals to respond to the impact of Covid in the justice system specifically, where backlogs have unavoidably built up.

 

You said

The consultation attracted a lot of interest with almost 3,000 responses being received; the majority of those were from individuals. The exact figures were 2,905 valid responses; 2,775 responses from individuals and 130 organisational responses. All responses represent a valid view and no responses were excluded from analysis.

The responses have been analysed by an external contractor, The Lines Between Ltd.  A full consultation report was published on 26 January 2022.

As is further set out in the consultation analysis report, public health resilience proposals elicited a range of views.

In relation to public services and justice system reform, modernisation, efficiency, and flexibility were themes expressed by those who endorsed extending provisions for public services and justice proceedings to be carried out through remote, virtual, or electronic means.

The provisions for tenancies and protection against eviction attracted many responses.

In relation to the impact of Covid in the justice system, many organisations supported conducting court business by electronic means and virtual attendance.

We did

The consultation responses have been carefully considered, alongside other evidence, in relation to the development of a Covid Recovery Bill which was announced in the Programme for Government 2021-22.

The Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 25 January 2022.  On 28 June 2022 the Parliament passed the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022 to help Scotland recover from the pandemic and ensure greater resilience against future public health threats. Further details are available from this webpage.

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

As one of the steps to harness lessons from the Covid pandemic, the Scottish Government is committed to reviewing the impact of Covid on the Scottish statute book.  The Government wants to remove measures no longer needed in order to respond to the pandemic whilst keeping those where there is demonstrable benefit to the people of Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s consultation paper on "Covid recovery: a consultation on public health, public services and justice system reforms” focuses on reviewing the legislative powers that have supported the Government’s response to Covid.  The paper begins with discussion of the Government’s ambitions for Covid recovery and ends with an open question, to invite comments on the action that respondents think is required to support a fair, safe and secure recovery.

The Chapters of this consultation invite views on specific legislative proposals that have the potential to support Covid recovery:

  • Proposals for greater public health resilience, to protect Scotland against future public health threats;
     
  • Proposals for public services and justice system reform, to ensure that the benefits of practical modernisations put in place during the pandemic are maintained; and
     
  • Proposals to respond to the impact of Covid in the justice system specifically, where backlogs have unavoidably built up.

Why your views matter

Read the consultation paper

What happens next

Responses will be considered fully as part of the development of the Covid Recovery Bill which the Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise when it is introduced later this parliamentary year. 

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public, and after we have checked that they contain no potentially unlawful or offensive material (for example defamatory material), or personal data, responses will be published at consult.gov.scot.

All responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us. A full analysis of responses will be published in due course, and no later than on introduction of the Bill.

Interests

  • Business, Industry and Innovation
  • Children and Families
  • Communities and Third Sector
  • Constitution and Democracy
  • Education
  • Health and Social Care
  • Housing and Regeneration
  • Law and Order
  • Public Safety and Emergencies