The Act
3.The Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 and Coronavirus (No.2) (Scotland) Act 2020 (“the Scottish Acts”) were passed by the Scottish Parliament on 1 April and 20 May 2020 respectively in response to the emergency situation caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. They contain a series of measures most of which were temporary in nature. When the Scottish Acts were passed, they provided that they would expire at the end of September 2020. They contained powers to amend that date – these powers were exercised ultimately to provide for the expiry of the Scottish Acts on 30 September 2021.
4.While in June 2021 the programme for vaccination of the adult population in Scotland against coronavirus continued and infection rates remained under close observation, the Scottish Government considered that many of the temporary measures contained in the Scottish Acts would remained necessary beyond 30 September 2021. The Bill for this Act was therefore introduced in late June 2021 (as an emergency Bill) with its purpose being to delay the expiry of the Acts.