The Act: Overview
3.The Act makes temporary modifications to the Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008 so that health boards have discretion as to whether to pay compensation for self-isolation in connection with coronavirus.
4.The Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008 contains, at section 56, a duty on health boards to compensate people who are asked in writing by the health board to voluntarily quarantine, or to limit their movements or activities. Section 58 of the same Act sets out a further duty on health boards to compensate carers of those people and carers of people subject to an exclusion order, restriction order or quarantine order. A temporary modification of these duties was contained in paragraph 46 of schedule 21 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 which was a response to the situation caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
5.The modification made by the Coronavirus Act 2020 changed the duty on health boards to pay compensation to a discretionary power to do so, during times that Scotland is in a “transmission control period” by virtue of a statutory declaration made under paragraph 25 of schedule 21 of that Act. The statutory declaration must be revoked by the Scottish Ministers when they are no longer of the view that COVID-19 is a serious and imminent threat to public health, and that the powers in schedule 21 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 remain a suitable means to reduce transmission. If the statutory declaration is revoked, and accordingly the modifications made by paragraph 46 of schedule 21 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 cease to be of effect, at a time when people are still being asked by health boards to voluntarily self-isolate as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, health boards will be under an obligation to pay compensation to those people and to their carers.
6.The Act has the effect that the duty on health boards to pay compensation is reinstated in respect of requests to self-isolate for reasons other than COVID-19. Where the request is made for COVID-19 related reasons, the Act provides that payment of compensation is discretionary. This modification has effect for an initial period of approximately 6 months from commencement of the Act. This period is subject to amendment by the Scottish Ministers under the regulation-making powers set out in the Act. The period may be reduced, or it may be extended by no more than 6 months at a time.