Guidance Archives - Page 16 of 33

Scottish Government: Ukraine Refugee Sponsorship

Posted on March 14, 2022March 22, 2022 by Fiona Campbell

Scotland outlines ‘super-sponsor’ proposal in commitment to support Ukrainian refugees.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has outlined the Scottish Government’s commitment to maximise its contribution to the UK Government’s community sponsorship scheme, whilst emphasising it must provide more clarity on how the scheme will work.

It is expected that Ukrainians will be able to apply to come to the UK if they have been matched with a ‘sponsor’ who will provide accommodation.

In a joint letter to Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, the First Minister and First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford have proposed that the Scottish and Welsh Governments act as ‘super sponsors’.

This would enable Ukrainians to get clearance to come to Scotland or Wales quickly and be accommodated temporarily, while the Scottish and Welsh governments then work with local partners to provide longer term accommodation (including where appropriate with private individuals who have volunteered rooms), safeguarding and access to services.

The letter makes clear that no cap will be set by Scotland and Wales on the numbers of refugees they will welcome.

As an immediate commitment Scotland has offered to support 3,000 refugees in the initial wave, in line with the numbers that were resettled under the Syrian scheme. Overall, the Scottish Government is committed to welcoming at least a proportionate share of the total number who come to the UK. The letter says it is essential all arrivals have access to public funds including welfare benefits, and are exempted from the Habitual Residence Test for accessing these.

In addition, the First Ministers’ letter calls for urgent clarity on funding arrangements to support local government and suggests a per head funding arrangement similar to the Syrian and Afghanistan schemes to support resettlement and integration costs.

While committed to doing everything possible to make the UK government’s proposed scheme a success, the First Ministers also renewed their call on the UK Government to waive all visa requirements for Ukrainian nationals.

Homes for Ukraine: register your interest

If you want to offer a home to people fleeing Ukraine, you can become a ‘sponsor’ as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Use this service to register your interest in becoming a sponsor. You can register as an individual or as an organisation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions and answers on how the Homes for Ukraine scheme will work.

What can we do, as a community, to help?

Fairbnb.coop is creating a platform that can be used by NGOs and humanitarian organisations to find hosts for refugees. The first version will be available in the next few days.

Please fill in the registration form if you can help.

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers is proud to be supporting Fairbnb.coop with this initiative.

Find out more.

The ASSC will keep you updated as and when advice becomes available.

First Minister’s Statement 18th January 2022

Posted on January 18, 2022January 18, 2022 by Fiona Campbell

The First Minister updated Parliament today on COVID-19 and confirmed that additional measures aimed at stemming the spread of the Omicron variant whilst the vaccination booster programme took effect are to be lifted.

The First Minister provided a Covid-19 update to the Scottish Parliament which covered the following issues:

Latest statistics: 7,752 positive cases were reported yesterday through PCR and LFTs. 1,546 people are in hospital with Covid (-21) and 59 people are in intensive care (+1). A further 31 deaths were reported, taking the total number of deaths under the daily definition to 10,093.
The FM confirmed the Scottish Government’s steps in lifting the protective measures against omicron which were introduced in December. She added that “the data gives us confidence that we have turned the corner on the Omicron wave” but “significant pressures and uncertainties remain”. She claimed that a combination of booster vaccinations, the willingness of the public to adapt behaviours, and the “temporary protective measures” had helped suppress the impact of the Omicron wave.
The following measures would be lifted from Monday 24^th January: limits on attendance at indoor public events, the requirement for 1m social distancing in indoor public places, table service in hospitality venues serving alcohol, and the closure of nightclubs. Furthermore, from this date, the guidance on asking people to stick to the three household limit with indoor gatherings would be removed.
However, the mitigation measures that were in place before omicron will be retained at this stage. She also noted that the Scottish Government would not extend the vaccine certification scheme to other venues.
People will continue to be asked to work from home whenever possible, with employers asked to facilitate this. However, the Government will engage with businesses now about a return to a more hybrid approach from the start of February if case numbers continue to decline.

Self-Isolation Rules, Right to Work & SSP Rebate Scheme

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Fiona Campbell

Changes to self-isolation rules

Nicola Sturgeon has announced that those self-isolating with coronavirus can end their isolation period after 7 days, providing they don’t have a fever and record 2 negative lateral flow tests (no earlier than day 6 and a second test at least 24 hours later). There are specific requirements so please read the full guidance available at Coronavirus (COVID-19): Self-isolation guidance for individuals with possible coronavirus infection | NHS inform (note that gov.scot info on self-isolation now signposts to NHS Inform). Please note, if an employee was told to self-isolate prior to 6 January, they should continue to follow the advice given at that time.

Additionally, throughout the UK, asymptomatic individuals who return a positive lateral flow will no longer have to confirm their result with a PCR test.

Digital right to work checks made permanent

Digital right to work (RTW) checks were introduced on a temporary basis to alleviate the practical difficulties associated with completing physical checks whilst working remotely during the Coronavirus pandemic. It has now been announced that a permanent system of digital RTW checks will be put into place from 6 April 2022.

The cost of the digital right-to-work checks are set to be funded by employers, with an individual check costing between £1.45 and £70, according to the Home Office. In addition, the costs will only be applied to documents from UK nationals, while the existing free online service can still be used for applications from overseas.

Details published of the re-opened SSP Rebate Scheme

On 21 December 2021, the UK Government re-opened the Coronavirus SSP Rebate Scheme

The Scheme covers the cost of up to two weeks’ SSP per employee for Covid-related absences to employers with fewer than 250 employees.

Making a claim

This two-week limit will be reset so an employer will be able to claim up to two weeks per employee regardless of whether they have claimed under the previous scheme for that same employee.

The portal will be live from mid-January 2022, but employers can backdate claims for any Covid-related absences beginning on or after 21 December 2021. Whilst this is described as a temporary scheme in government guidance, no end date has been confirmed for when this scheme will close.

The previous scheme

The existing portal closed on 31 December 2021 for any absences prior to 30 September 2021. Employers will not be able to claim for the period from 1 October – 20 December 2021 inclusive as there was no scheme in operation during that time.

Record keeping

Employers must keep the following records for three years from the date they receive payment for their claim:

The dates the employee was off sick
Which of those days were qualifying days
The reason they said they were off work due to Covid (e.g. positive test/isolation instruction)
The employee’s National Insurance number

Further guidance to be published

Under the previous SSP Rebate scheme, the waiting days were suspended for Covid-related absences to enable employers to pay SSP from the first qualifying day of sickness. It is anticipated that this rule will continue when the scheme re-opens in January 2022, but further guidance is awaited on this point.