Covid Recovery strategy activity overview and next steps report

Introduction

In October 2021, a shared vision was set out by the Scottish Government and local government to address the systemic inequalities that had been made worse by Covid in order to make progress towards a wellbeing economy and accelerate inclusive person-centred public services. The Covid recovery strategy sought to understand the impact that the pandemic and subsequent control measures had across four harms; the direct and indirect health harms, the harm to our society and how we live our lives, and the harm to our economy.

The evidence made clear that the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on segments of our population, particularly on low-income households.

Meanwhile engagement to identify people’s priorities for recovery aligned with the key principles of the Christie Commission and the Scottish Government’s reform ambitions: prevention, partnership, people, performance, and place.

Following this research and engagement, the vision for the strategy sought to:

• address the systemic inequalities made worse by Covid
• make progress towards a wellbeing economy
• accelerate inclusive, person-centred services

Three key outcomes were identified as being central to achieving this vision as they would have the greatest impact on tackling the inequality and disadvantage highlighted by Covid, as well as benefiting population health by addressing some of the key upstream drivers of health inequalities.

The outcomes were:

• financial security for low-income households
• wellbeing of children and young people
• good, green jobs and fair work

In order to support a collective, multi-sectoral approach to recovery, the Covid Recovery strategy Programme Board was established and co-chaired by the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery, and the President of COSLA. The board’s membership included representatives from Scottish Government, Local Government, business and the third sector.

The board set out to learn from activity that took place during the pandemic, acting as a catalyst for accelerating change by providing support and challenge to existing structures.