Latest news with #ScottishCovid-19Inquiry
The Herald Scotland
19-05-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Cost of public inquiries in Scotland since 2007 rises to £230m
Some £666,949 of this was spent on staff, while £316,035 was spent on external legal costs. Patients of the disgraced neurosurgeon, who worked for NHS Tayside between 1995 and 2014, have claimed he harmed as many as 200 people, with some suffering life-changing injuries. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, which was announced in 2014 to investigate the abuse of children in care, remains the most expensive in the country, with a current cost of £95.3 million. READ MORE: The Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, which is examining the Government's response to the pandemic, was announced in 2021 and has already cost £34 million. Meanwhile, the cost of the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry, which was announced in 2019, stood at £23.6 million as of December 2024. That inquiry is probing the death of Mr Bayoh, who died after being restrained by police in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in 2015. The costs of the ongoing Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, which is examining issues with the construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, have risen to £23.6 million. That inquiry was announced in 2019. The completed Edinburgh Trams Inquiry cost £13.1 million. The news comes as Holyrood's Finance Committee investigates the cost-effectiveness of public inquiries. MSPs could probe the role of legal firms and whether they have a vested interest in inquiries running on for years past their original finish date, and whether they have a conflict of interest in seeking to broaden the remit of inquiries, increasing costs further. Professor Sandy Cameron, the former chair of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, will appear before the Finance Committee on Tuesday. In a written submission to the committee, Professor Cameron said that part of the reason for the rising costs of inquiries was the difficulty in managing legal fees and holding solicitors to budget. He said: 'It has to be recognised that inquiries are a source of substantial income for some large legal firms and, as such, the question arises as to the extent to which they are motivated to keep costs to a minimum and within budget.' Costs can also increase if more victims come forward when the timetable of an inquiry is expanded. Professor Cameron warned the length of some inquiries risks the loss of public interest while adding pressure to victims seeking answers. She said there is also the risk of 'passion fatigue' for participants if they run on. He added: 'Essentially, we need to ask the questions what are inquiries trying to achieve and could they be done differently? 'If we were starting from scratch could we devise a process which was more effective and less costly?'
Daily Mail
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Covid patrol cop stopped funeral that was 'too busy'
Police officers halted a burial and insisted on counting how many mourners were there because they thought the funeral breached strict Covid rules, an inquiry heard. Four officers brought the outdoors service to a halt, despite the pleas of undertakers, because they were informed there were more than the 20 allowed under coronavirus laws. It is the latest shocking revelation made to the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry about the impact Nicola Sturgeon 's pandemic rules had on the lives of Scots. Yesterday, Lord Brailsford's inquiry was told that staff at some venues were counting how many people walked through the doors, blocking entry to anyone over the limit no matter how close they were to the deceased. The probe was also told how one family defied rules which banned them from singing, and how police were pulling over funeral staff to demand why they were outside. The inquiry, which has so far cost £34 million, is currently hearing evidence as to how the pandemic affected worship and life events. Tim Purves, the chief executive of William Purves Funeral Directors who transported Queen Elizabeth II from Balmoral to Edinburgh following her death, told of a service in the Borders which was brought to a halt by officers. He told the inquiry: 'We had a funeral that was taking place outside, it was a burial, and during the funeral service four police officers turned up in a car. 'They had been informed that there was more than 20 people attending this funeral, and the four police officers came up and stopped the funeral while they counted the people that were there. 'My funeral director, who was there, tried to plead with them to say: 'Look, you can stand back here and count. You can see there's less than 20..' But they insisted on doing this.' In his written statement he told how they 'went right up to the front, halting the burial' to check. And giving evidence yesterday he told how his colleague said to the four of them who arrived in a car together that despite this officers were 'more concerned about the fact that in the open air there might be more than 20 people'. Mr Purves said: 'It just felt at times the rules were taking over.' During the virus crisis, the Scottish Government introduced mandates about how many people could attend funerals as they tried to get to grips with rapidly rising case counts. But before they did venues would have to make up their own rules, and Mr Purves told how one cemetery made the decision to have only five people, including clergy and staff, which meant only two family members could attend. But, the inquiry heard, there were some which allowed much larger numbers. With the limit of 20 set, some venues would have staff count people as they walked in. Mr Purves said: 'When they reached the number 21 they sort of said: 'No, you're not coming in.' The difficulty was sometimes that person was actually a very close relative, and somebody else had actually gone in ahead of them. 'So there were times when we were having to go in and actually almost fish people back out and say: 'I'm really sorry, but this very close relative has to come in, so you need to come out.' One evening, the inquiry heard, rules were introduced with immediate effect banning singing at funerals. It meant staff had to call one mourning family, who had planned on signing hymns the next day, to tell them that while music can play nobody is allowed to sing. Mr Purves said: 'The response at the funeral was that many people still sang. Now, everybody was wearing facemasks, but there is no way of physically stopping people from singing when they were at the funeral. 'But while the music was playing, some people still sang.' Funeral directors were not classes as key workers, and two staff were pulled over by police in the middle of the night while travelling to remove a deceased person from the house to demand to know why they were outside. Police allowed them to continue their journey after being told of the circumstance.
Western Telegraph
30-04-2025
- Health
- Western Telegraph
People felt they ‘failed' loved ones over funerals during pandemic, inquiry told
Fiona Arnott-Barron, chief executive of bereavement support charity Cruse Scotland, said relatives and friends of people who died during the worst of the pandemic reported feeling they had 'failed' them for not being able to look after them or arrange regular-sized funerals or receptions. She told the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry those feelings persist in many people who come to the charity for support, along with feelings of anger towards politicians who were later found to have flouted restrictions on gatherings the public were expected to follow. The inquiry's worship and life events impact hearings began on Tuesday, with evidence taken from faith leaders from different denominations including the Catholic Church and the Free Church of Scotland. Ms Arnott-Barron told junior counsel to the inquiry Christopher Stephens that cases of Covid-19 became the third most common cause of death people cited as the reason they were coming to Cruse Scotland for help to cope with. 'I would say the complexity of people's grief was something that we had never seen before,' she said. 'It's just hard to put it into words … a lot of anger, most definitely.' Asked to explain the anger felt by those bereaved, Ms Arnott-Barron said it mostly stemmed from them not being allowed to care for their loves ones or attend funerals to pay respects. The guilt is just huge, the feeling of failure that they let their loved one down Fiona Arnott-Barron 'There was huge anger at people not being able to have people at funerals that they wanted or not being able to be with the person who was dying,' she said. 'It's fair to say there was a lot of anger when things came out in the media about politicians that hadn't adhered to the restrictions.' She continued: 'Some people want to have a wake (after a funeral) – that's what the person might have wanted or expected. 'But families not feeling they could fulfil what they felt was the right thing was really, really difficult. 'I mean, not even being able to go for a cup of tea afterwards (was) really, really challenging.' Moving on to discuss the long-term impacts of the pandemic Ms Arnott-Barron said people seeking support around bereavement still talked about feeling guilty over not being able to arrange proper send-offs for loved ones. 'There is still a lot of feelings around that – the guilt is just huge, the feeling of failure that they let their loved one down,' she said. 'It's something that just keeps recurring.' The inquiry, before Lord Brailsford, continues.
The Independent
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Wedding kiss restrictions branded ‘bizarre' by humanist leader at inquiry
A pandemic restriction banning cohabiting couples from kissing during wedding ceremonies was 'bizarre', a humanist leader told the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry. The long-term impact of lockdown on wedding trends included more outdoor ceremonies and shorter timescales for planning, the inquiry heard. The Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry's worship and life events impact hearings began on Tuesday, with evidence from faith leaders from different denominations including the Catholic Church, Free Church of Scotland, as well as from the Humanist Society Scotland and the Jewish Council of Scotland. Fraser Sutherland, of the Humanist Society Scotland, said as recently as 2024, weddings were going ahead which had been postponed during the pandemic, and branded some restrictions 'bizarre'. Mr Sutherland said: 'Some couples decided they didn't want to get married, some people's relationships ended. 'We did also see a significant increase in small weddings. There were quite a lot of people who were relieved they didn't have to have a big wedding. I think a lot of couples feel pressure from family and friends to have a big ceremony. I think quite a lot of people felt they had a licence to do what they wanted.' He added: 'The restrictions for masks for couples was removed there were numerous conversations with the Government about removing masks for declaration. There was a bizarre circumstance where there was no kissing allowed. 'In humanist tradition most of those couples would be already living together.' All the faith leaders said that they were dedicated to sticking to the restrictions – however, Mr Sutherland said that some venues were desperate to generate income and would allow people to break the rules. Mr Sutherland said: 'There was a lot of push-back particularly as pandemic pressed on, from couples, from wedding venues, who were keen to get as many people in as possible. 'We had a lot of difficult situations where couples were being told one thing by venues, our celebrant turns up and there's 50 people when there should be 20. We had couples saying 'everyone here is exempt, around mask wearing'.' Rev Donald MacDonald of the Free Church of Scotland, based on Tiree, Skye, said: 'On Skye we tend to get a number of elopement weddings every year – they came to an end when lockdown was announced. All these arrangements in place for a year to 18 months had to be cancelled. 'Others delayed planning of their weddings. We did schedule a meeting with government representatives to try to argue for permission of having weddings – within our tradition a number of folk moving in together is not an option before marriage.' Ephraim Borowski, of the Jewish Council of Scotland, said: 'It might have been useful to have a hotline, or some kind of exception granting mechanism, completely general, which would give us a definite answer, I think that would have helped.' He added: 'I wasn't aware of any time anyone said about the 1919 Spanish flu pandemic so as far as we knew nothing had been learned from that. That puts this inquiry into perspective, because presumably the point is to learn for the future. Is anyone actually going to remember?' Rt Rev Brian McGee, of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland, said that NHS workers were deprived of pastoral care in hospitals, along with sick or dying people, due to restrictions. He said that mass could only be celebrated in a church, and that faith leaders were not told about a decision to close places of worship in the second lockdown, until it happened. Mr McGee said: 'We've talked about ceremonies but when people were in hospital, they were looked after by NHS staff who were in fear for their own lives. 'When people are sick and they're nervous they would want the comfort of a visit, some pastoral care and prayers being said for them. 'I know the difficulty for that and infection control but could there have been more consideration given. 'When a chaplain goes in they're there for anyone looking for help including the staff. There could have been pastoral care available for staff.' The impact of restrictions on funeral rites was compared to 'physical pain' by other religious leaders, the inquiry heard. Omar Afzal, from the Scottish Association of Mosques, said: 'I would describe the effect of not being able to fulfil religious rites as almost like physical pain in the effect it had.' Ravi Ladva, from the Scottish Hindu Foundation, said: 'As part of the Scottish community have to be pragmatic. We didn't question why only six members are allowed in the crematorium. 'A lot of our community members are on the frontline of the NHS and public services. As much as I would like to mourn, my duty to my community and the rest of Scotland comes first. The psychological aspect are there for the mourners as well to help them manage their grief. 'Through the pandemic we were fortunate to scramble together online services where it still maintained some semblance of community. 'It does require review and has not been forgotten how we were treated and our practises and rituals were portrayed.'
STV News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- STV News
Wedding kiss restrictions branded ‘bizarre' by humanist leader at inquiry
A pandemic restriction banning cohabiting couples from kissing during wedding ceremonies was 'bizarre', a humanist leader told the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry. The long-term impact of lockdown on wedding trends included more outdoor ceremonies and shorter timescales for planning, the inquiry heard. The Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry's worship and life events impact hearings began on Tuesday, with evidence from faith leaders from different denominations including the Catholic Church, Free Church of Scotland, as well as from the Humanist Society Scotland and the Jewish Council of Scotland. Fraser Sutherland, of the Humanist Society Scotland, said as recently as 2024, weddings were going ahead which had been postponed during the pandemic, and branded some restrictions 'bizarre'. Mr Sutherland said: 'Some couples decided they didn't want to get married, some people's relationships ended. 'We did also see a significant increase in small weddings. There were quite a lot of people who were relieved they didn't have to have a big wedding. I think a lot of couples feel pressure from family and friends to have a big ceremony. I think quite a lot of people felt they had a licence to do what they wanted.' He added: 'The restrictions for masks for couples was removed there were numerous conversations with the Government about removing masks for declaration. There was a bizarre circumstance where there was no kissing allowed. 'In humanist tradition most of those couples would be already living together.' All the faith leaders said that they were dedicated to sticking to the restrictions – however, Mr Sutherland said that some venues were desperate to generate income and would allow people to break the rules. Mr Sutherland said: 'There was a lot of push-back particularly as pandemic pressed on, from couples, from wedding venues, who were keen to get as many people in as possible. 'We had a lot of difficult situations where couples were being told one thing by venues, our celebrant turns up and there's 50 people when there should be 20. We had couples saying 'everyone here is exempt, around mask wearing'.' Rev Donald MacDonald of the Free Church of Scotland, based on Tiree, Skye, said: 'On Skye we tend to get a number of elopement weddings every year – they came to an end when lockdown was announced. All these arrangements in place for a year to 18 months had to be cancelled. 'Others delayed planning of their weddings. We did schedule a meeting with government representatives to try to argue for permission of having weddings – within our tradition a number of folk moving in together is not an option before marriage.' Ephraim Borowski, of the Jewish Council of Scotland, said: 'It might have been useful to have a hotline, or some kind of exception granting mechanism, completely general, which would give us a definite answer, I think that would have helped.' He added: 'I wasn't aware of any time anyone said about the 1919 Spanish flu pandemic so as far as we knew nothing had been learned from that. That puts this inquiry into perspective, because presumably the point is to learn for the future. Is anyone actually going to remember?' Rt Rev Brian McGee, of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland, said that NHS workers were deprived of pastoral care in hospitals, along with sick or dying people, due to restrictions. He said that mass could only be celebrated in a church, and that faith leaders were not told about a decision to close places of worship in the second lockdown, until it happened. Mr McGee said: 'We've talked about ceremonies but when people were in hospital, they were looked after by NHS staff who were in fear for their own lives. 'When people are sick and they're nervous they would want the comfort of a visit, some pastoral care and prayers being said for them. 'I know the difficulty for that and infection control but could there have been more consideration given. 'When a chaplain goes in they're there for anyone looking for help including the staff. There could have been pastoral care available for staff.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
