Nicola Sturgeon has hit out at UK Treasury cuts that could dismantle the covid tracing system built up across the UK in the last two years
Boris Johnson’s plans to lift covid restrictions in England were thrown into chaos on Monday after a huge row between Rishi Sunak and chancellor Sajid Javid over proposals to cut back on covid testing.
UK Health Secretary Javid demanded Treasury support over the weekend to maintain testing of NHS staff and care workers in England but the chancellor resisted extra funding.
The dispute led to the sudden postponement of a cabinet meeting in Downing Street on Monday morning with the Treasury, reportedly, not budging on extra money.
Sturgeon, who is in charge of the NHS in Scotland, expressed fury that health policy in Scotland was being driven by politicking in the UK cabinet.
She tweeted: “If this is correct, it’s catastrophic for the UK’s ability to ensure adequate covid surveillance, outbreak management in future. To allow significant dismantling of the testing infrastructure built up in last two years would be inexcusable negligence given ongoing risks.”
Sturgeon tweeted: “If Sunak wins, the concern is more than just an end to free access to testing in short term (a decision I don’t agree with) - it’ll also be hard for UK to retain adequate testing capacity for longer term surveillance & response to new variants.”
She added: “Presumably, England is not going to take away its testing infrastructure completely so what will the residual funding be and what will that enable the devolved administrations to support."
The First Minister, who will make a covid statement at Holyrood on Tuesday, said she had expressed her frustration to UK Cabinet Minister Michael Gove in a call on Monday morning.
She said: “We are back again being really starkly reminded of this illogical position that the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments have to deal with, which is that we are responsible for public health decisions in our own countries, but it’s the Treasury who makes the funding decisions and they seem to be only triggered by the decisions Boris Johnson makes for England.”
Johnson is due to make a statement to MPs in the Commons on Monday afternoon, followed by a press conference in the evening but the plans are now in disarray.
Wes Streeting, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said the shambles proved Johnson was trying to distract from the looming police investigation into lockdown parties at Downing Street.
He said: “What confidence can the public have that the Conservatives are acting in the national interest, when they can’t agree a plan for Covid?”
“It is clear the Prime Minister was trying to declare victory before the war is over, simply to distract from the police knocking at the door of Number 10.”
Labour MSP Jackie Baillie, speaking ahead of the Sturgeon statement, said: “The progress that we are making against the virus is very welcome, but we must remember that this virus has not gone away and we must all remain vigilant to the threat it poses."
“When the people of Scotland most need co-operation between both of Scotland’s governments, we are faced with the prospect of them taking opposing positions on the easing of restrictions."
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