John Swinney – 2021 Comments on the Scottish Coronavirus Act

The comments made by John Swinney, the Deputy First Minister and COVID Recovery Secretary, on 18 June 2021.

The Scottish Coronavirus Acts contain provisions which make temporary adjustments to respond to the pandemic, and protect the health of people living in Scotland.

We have already suspended or expired many provisions that are now redundant as restrictions have eased. However, to ensure those still required to protect the public and maintain essential public services can continue beyond 30 September, we have brought legislation forward to enable parliamentary scrutiny before the summer recess.

This timeframe is necessary to give public services like the courts certainty ahead of the Acts’ original expiry date, taking into account the time needed for this legislation to come into effect.

We will continue to report to Parliament every two months on the use of these emergency powers, and remain committed to expiring or suspending any provisions that are no longer necessary.