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Scottish Government submission of 12 October 2021

PE1883/A - Open all toddler and baby activities within Tier 3 of COVID-19 /future pandemic lockdowns

In response to your request of 5 July for the Scottish Government’s views on the action called for in above petition. I will start by stating that, thankfully, we are now at Beyond Level 0 as a country, and the majority of the restrictions have been removed.

Throughout the pandemic the Scottish Government has recognised the need to support parents, young children and families. The package of guidance and support referenced within this response is evidence of that. However, public safety has of course been paramount, and measures and mitigations had to be put in place to reduce the risk of infection and spread of Covid-19. These measures, including those relating to baby and toddler activities, were however constantly under review.

Specific Covid-19 guidance was developed and available from September 2020 to ensure that unregulated organised children’s activities, such as parent and baby/toddler groups, had the guidance they required to deliver these services safely. This was developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders, such as CALA Childcare and Early Years Scotland, to ensure as many organisations as possible had access to tailored information appropriate to their service users’ needs.

At Level 4, the level before full lockdown, these activities were permitted outdoors, and could take place where it was safe to do so. Again, the numbers permitted to meet at any one time were limited to reduce transmission.

Within Level 3, parent and baby groups were permitted to take place indoors. This was largely in line with other similar indoor activities, which included adults as well as children, such as non-contact sports. There were caps placed on the numbers that were permitted at any one time to further reduce the risk of transmission. These were based on clinical advice based on the best evidence available at the time.

The Scottish Government recognises the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on families with children and young people and the key importance of outdoor play to children and families’ health and wellbeing.

Throughout the pandemic, the Scottish Government worked closely with the play sector to support families with play and learning at home during lockdown through a range of channels. The Parent Club website and related social marketing campaigns included advice, information and resources aimed at supporting families to cope with being at home together for long periods. Play was at the forefront of our messaging as a means of helping children adjust to the changes in their lives, assist with learning and lead to positive interactions with their families, as well as making transitions back to school and nursery after a period of restrictions.

In recognition of the impact of Covid moving much of play outdoors, we also launched the Outdoor Community Play Fund in July 2020 to enable more children and families in disadvantaged communities to enjoy outdoor play. The Fund supported 23 charities across Scotland in 2020/21 delivering organised outdoor play activities, equipment and clothing for children and young people to help as many of them as possible to play outside, be active and meet friends. The Scottish Government invested a further £500,000 in the Outdoor Community Play Fund to support organised play activities throughout Scotland in 2021/22.

We worked closely with the play sector, including Play Scotland and Smart Play Network and others, to provide non-digital support to vulnerable families, including physical play packs and materials for different age groups of children. The activities that are within the pack range from group work to individual work, with some involving play, challenges and a choice of freedom in the completion of them – all key characteristics of play identified in the Play Strategy.

The Scottish Government provided £20 million to local authorities and a coalition of national organisations to deliver a Summer 2021 Programme with opportunities and online resources accessible to all children and young people, to support their mental health and wellbeing and helping them to socialise, play, and reconnect - and recover from the pandemic. These local programmes focused on improving wellbeing through a variety of activities for all those aged up to 25. This included enhancing outdoor play opportunities within the local community and supporting baby and toddler groups to engage with young children and their parents and carers to improve health and wellbeing, confidence, attachment and support play and learning environment at home. Comprehensive guidance has been provided to local authorities and to national offer partners for providing these enhanced activities, with key focus on supporting the right to play.

Soft play centres were able to re-open from 2 November 2020 in areas in protection level 0 and 1, having regard to specific guidance which was developed in collaboration with the sector, regulators and clinicians, setting out clear mitigation measures to reduce the risk of virus transmission, such as enhanced cleaning regime, restricting numbers at the centre at any point to ensure physical distancing can be maintained and any equipment which may be more difficult to clean (such as ball pits) would be removed or closed. We recognise that the COVID-19 restrictions impacted adversely on the soft play sector in Scotland and a range of support was provided to soft play businesses including through the Contingency Fund and the Strategic Framework Business Fund.

All soft play centres were able to re-open on 19 July 2021 when all of Scotland moved to level 0 and as of 9 August, when all of Scotland moved beyond level 0, the soft play sector has been operating under the same guidance as all businesses and workplaces in Scotland, Coronavirus (COVID-19): safer businesses and workplaces guidance. This guidance is for all businesses and workplaces and provides advice on measures which should continue to be taken to continue to reduce risk and support staff and customers. In addition to the safer workplaces guidance, central guidance has also been published on how to stay safe and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

You may also be interested to know that the Scottish Government is providing funding of £60 million to local authorities over this parliamentary term towards renewing play parks in Scotland to ensure that all children have access to quality play in their own community. This investment will help deliver on children’s right to play and engagement with children, young people and families will be at the heart of the play park renewal programme, in keeping with our Play Strategy and our ambition to make Scotland the best place to grow up.

The suite of restrictions and related support measures that are referenced above do of course relate to past lockdowns and I note that the petitioner asks specifically about future lockdowns. Given the fluid nature of the pandemic, the Scottish Government is unfortunately not in a position to rule out further restrictions.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to deploy targeted and proportionate restrictions, given the various harms that they can cause on the economy and broader society. However we must keep the option of rapid deployment of restrictions in reserve should the picture of the pandemic change and such action be judged necessary and appropriate.

We are unable to advise on the specific nature of any further Covid-19 restrictions, should they been judged necessary, however I can reassure you that any restrictions would be specific, targeted and proportionate to the evolving risks of Covid-19. They would aim to alleviate Covid harms while allowing us to recover and rebuild for the future.