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COVID-19 Recovery Committee publish legacy report

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 6th July 2023
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The committee's final report identifies Long Covid, NHS dental and cancer services and public transport as requiring ongoing scrutiny.

Following their final meeting on 29 June 2023, the Scottish Parliament’s COVID-19 Recovery Committee have published their legacy report, reflecting on the scrutiny carried out by the committee over the past two years, and highlighting topics for other committees to take forward.

The committee’s work included scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s major Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill. They also carried out inquiries into excess deaths during the pandemic, Long Covid and the impact of the pandemic on Scotland’s labour market.

The ALLIANCE engaged actively and extensively with the committee throughout its existence, including through our responses to the call for views on the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill, the excess deaths, Long Covid and labour market inquiries, and input into pre-budget scrutiny ahead of the 2023-24 Scottish Budget. We were frequently invited to give evidence to the committee, including on vaccine certification, excess deaths, communication of public health information, pre-budget scrutiny, Long Covid, and recovery of NHS dental services.

The committee has recommended that some of the issues they have been scrutinising continue to form part of the work of other committees. The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has been encouraged to scrutinise the progress on the recommendations arising from the Long Covid inquiry, and prioritise recovery of NHS dental and cancer services for further scrutiny. Meanwhile, it was suggested that the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee should investigate the recovery of public bus transport.

The COVID-19 Recovery Committee was established after the May 2021 Scottish Parliament election as the successor to the previous session’s COVID-19 Committee, to scrutinise the work of the Cabinet Secretary for COVID Recovery, as well as consider issues relating to the pandemic more broadly. After the election of Humza Yousaf as the new First Minister earlier this year, the resulting Scottish Government no longer includes a COVID-19 Recovery portfolio. The Scottish Parliament then agreed to wind up the COVID-19 Recovery Committee during the summer recess 2023.

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