Category: Covid 19

The partial reopening of schools and ELC

As you may have hears the Scottish Government has announced the partial reopening of schools and ELC

Below is from the BBC

Scotland’s youngest pupils are likely to return to the classroom full time from 22 February as schools start a phased reopening.

The move will include all pupils in P1-P3 as well as pre-school children.

There will also be a part-time return, but on a very limited basis, for senior secondary pupils to allow them to complete work for national qualifications.

A final decision will be taken on the partial reopening in a fortnight.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-55904466

Attached is a copy of our recent survey of members and below a copy of our media release in response to the announcement.

These vital services are currently being delivered to many children and UNISON members have worked hard at creating environments safe for children and staff.   It will help no one if further opening up of schools and nurseries brings a greater risk of infection. Councils and Scottish Government need to be making sure that the measures in the jointly developed guidelines are delivered on the ground.

Lorraine Thomson, Chair of UNISON Scotland Education Issues Group said

“Employers must ensure that risk assessments are taking place, that staff are aware of these assessments and are trained so that they can work safely. Proper implementation of appropriate mitigations is the only way to keep staff, children and the wider community safe.

UNISON reps have been working throughout the pandemic supporting members in education. Ensuring that their health and safety is a priority. Members who see that guidelines are not being followed should contact their branch to ensure that appropriate action can be taken.”

UNISON Facecoverings

You may have received UNISON face coverings to help stop the spread of this pandemic and you can distribute them to members in your area. These are face-coverings and not a substitute for issued PPE, they are more an enhancement and can be worn over issued masks (the blue or white ones)

COVID Workforce Issues Update

LG Finance 

Whilst the individual local authority allocations arising from the draft budget will not be published until Monday it is clear that yesterday’s announcement fell well short of delivering the investment local government needs to protect jobs and services going forward.   

Behind the spin the budget allocation for local government for 21-22, compared to the 20-21 allocation, indicates an uplift in the total budget allocation to local government of just £91m – that’s some way short of the £1.5bn ask made by COSLA. 

As you know the Scottish Public Sector Pay policy may ‘act as a benchmark’ for all major public sector workforce groups but the technical guidance clearly states that local government pay is delegated to local authorities and its clear that the Scottish Government has not budgeted for or fully funded a proper pay rise for local authority workers.  We will have to wait to see what COSLA’s response to this is. 

At any rate our #PlugTheGap campaign must ramp up in the coming weeks to try to influence the inter-party discussions that will now be taking place before the final budget is presented to Parliament. 

The Scottish Budget 2021-22 document is available online. 

WIG update 

We have raised with COSLA a concern that day-care staff, many of whom are having to deliver services at home because of Covid restrictions, are being told they now need to register with the SSSC and incur the cost of doing so.  We have raised concern that this requirement has only come about because these members’ roles and the services they deliver have changed as a result of Covid – their substantive roles do not require SSSC registration and so the employer should meet this cost.  COSLA are looking into this and we understand that SPDS are in discussion with the SSSC about it.  We will update you as soon as we get a response. 

Replacement shielding letters – after being bounced around various government departments it transpires that there is no actual process for individuals to request another copy of their shielding letter.  There is no ‘process’ as such, however if anyone has an issue in relation to this please contact the branch.

We raised concern about the safety risk associated with holding in-person voting for the Scottish Parliamentary elections in May. We have put out a separate mail on this but in case you missed it our press release is here

We highlighted the targeting of home and social care workers by organised anti-vaccination campaigners.  (Note this is about organised groups promoting misinformation rather than individuals expressing genuine worries or concerns)  The Scottish Government representatives present said they are very concerned about this.  They underlined the importance of signposting people to factual and credible messaging.

We have sent on the key links to various Public Health Scotland (PHS) resources earlier in the week.  There is some further information below: 

  • PHS are members of the WHO Vaccine Safety Network, which is about addressing misinformation about vaccine online.  
  • NHS Inform is a WHO accredited website for vaccine information and the main source PHS push out to the public for up to date and accurate information. The content there is developed and signed off by clinical experts, including the CMO office.  
  • Referring members to a highly credible and NHS badged source is critical part of addressing misinformation. This can be done via your own social media channels, emails to members. Here is some sample vaccine information / leaflets in our toolkit for social care
  • PHS are keen for us to share with you the stakeholder and partner toolkit for the Roll up your Sleeves campaign, also attached. 

Supporting children and young people with complex additional support needs 
The Government has published specific guidance for local authorities and schools to support children and young people with complex additional support needs in mainstream schools, units and special schools during the coronavirus pandemic.    

This guidance supplements the existing Coronavirus: reducing risks in schools guidance  and the Coronavirus (COVID 19): schools reopening arrangements .  It has been developed in partnership with the Additional Support for Learning Implementation Group.   

It seeks to highlight specific issues, safety measures and mitigations to support the management of risk towards ensuring a safe environment for the learning and teaching of children with complex additional support needs in mainstream schools, units and special schools during the coronavirus pandemic.  

You can access this guidance here

Early Learning and Childcare guidance 
The Early Learning and Childcare guidance has been updated and can be accessed here 

Library guidance – updated 
The Covid guidance for Libraries has been updated and can be accessed here


Social Care Bonus Payment

Further to the announcements made yesterday please see attached the letter sent by Jean Freeman to all local authorities and COSLA.  We know that this will raise a lot of questions and are seeking urgent clarification on who this applies to, how it is to be funded, how the money flows etc and will come back to you as soon as we have further details.  

Extension of the Self-Isolation Support Grant

The £500 Self-Isolation Support Grant is being extended to include parents on low incomes whose children are asked to self-isolate, Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announced today.  The grant will also become available to those who may be eligible for Universal Credit, but have not yet applied.  

Both changes will be introduced from 7 December.

More info here: https://www.gov.scot/news/more-people-can-claim-self-isolation-support-grant/

Universal Credit Claimant stats

We thought you might be interested in the most recent official statistics on people claiming, receiving, and starting on Universal Credit in Scotland, taken directly from the Department of Work and Pension’s (DWP) collection of Universal Credit Statistics.  It also summarises recent statistics on unemployment benefit claims and

households affected by the Benefit cap.

The percentage increases are shocking and sobering and lay bare the increased pressures local authorities will face in supporting those most in need.  Edinburgh has seen an eye-watering 184% increase in claimant count numbers since the start of the pandemic.

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2020/11/universal-credit-scotland-dashboard-november-2020/documents/universal-credit-scotland-dashboard-november-2020/universal-credit-scotland-dashboard-november-2020/govscot%3Adocument/Universal%2BCredit%2BScotland%2BBulletin%2B-%2BNovember%2B2020.pdf?forceDownload=true

LG Pay 2021  

We had another discussion with the other SJC TUs on the construct of the 2021 pay claim today and have made good progress towards a joint position.  Another meeting is due to be held next week and we will update you on progress of those discussions as soon as we can.  

How we are responding to the Corona virus

We are already receiving applications from members who are in financial difficulties as a result of the Coronavirus. In some cases, this has sadly meant providing support to those who have lost loved ones – including help with funeral costs.  

CoVid19 Response Fund

For many of our members, work and household income has suddenly changed overnight.  Whether as a result of ill-health, loss of income or increased work-related costs, many will be feeling anxious about how they will make ends meet, pay household bills and put food on the table.  

We want members to know that we are here to help in whatever way we can and is why we’ve established a special CoVid19 Response Fund.  This new hardship fund will help ease the immediate financial pressures faced by members including those who have become more vulnerable by providing an immediate grant of £250 to help with essentials.  

Eligibility

To be eligible for a COVID-19 grant the following must apply either to the member and/or their partner:

  • Suffered a reduction in earnings as a direct result of the coronavirus crisis which has put them in financial difficulty (this could be linked to work or health related reasons) and/or
  • Member and/or partner is a key worker with increased work-related costs as a result of the crisis, e.g. transport, care, or laundry costs.
Also
  • Be a UNISON member with at least 4 weeks membership and have paid their subscriptions;
  • Have savings of less than £800
  • Be applying for or in receipt of any statutory help that they may be entitled to.  

How members apply

Members in financial difficulty can apply direct by completing a simple online application form and attaching some supporting documents which will help us reach a quick decision.  

For all the details and, the application form itself go to: CoVid19ResponseFund

How you can help

Through your communication channels, please share information about this important initiative as widely as possible as this will ensure members who are struggling receive the help they need.  

Other important information

By way of a reminder, please also note that we have introduced a streamlined version of our main financial assistance application form which members can now complete electronically.  We are actively encouraging members to use the electronic form where possible as this will result in us receiving the application sooner.  Members can apply without going through the branch – something that may be helpful if you are a key worker or other reasons make it difficult to have contact with members.  

For further information go to: https://www.unison.org.uk/get-help/services-support/there-for-you/financial-assistance/ and then scroll down to the section on ‘Financial Assistance’

Thank you to everyone. We really do appreciate all that you’re doing during these difficult times.  

Stay healthy, stay safe, stay tuned for more information.