Covid-19 inquiry to look at impacts of lockdown restrictions on Scots

Scotland’s Covid-19 inquiry will look into the impact of lockdown restrictions on the public, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has said.

In December, Lady Poole was appointed to head the inquiry, which is in the establishment phase and is investigating how Scotland handled the pandemic.

On Thursday, Mr Swinney – who also serves as Covid-19 Recovery Secretary – said there would be three amendments to the terms of reference of the inquiry.

One would explicitly bring the impacts of the decision to impose restrictions on Scots as a result of the pandemic within the scope of the inquiry.

“As we all know, the imposition of lockdown and other restrictions had manifold impacts on all areas of our society,” the Deputy First Minister told MSPs.

“We wish to clarify the terms of reference to ensure that the impacts of these restrictions, including for those implementing them as well as those subject to them, are within scope of the inquiry.”

The text of the terms of reference will say the inquiry will “investigate the strategic elements of the handling of the pandemic related to the decisions to lockdown and to apply other restrictions and the impact of those restrictions”.

Other changes include adding the social care sector and experiences of unpaid carers to the terms of reference, as well as asking Lady Poole to consider the impact of the handling of the pandemic on the exercise of human rights.