Scotland’s papers: Care home death fears and ‘Scotland’s destiny’

image captionThe Sunday Mail features pictures of care home residents on its front page as it highlights a “human rights outrage”. They range from 104-year-old great-grandmother Dora Nutt, who spent her birthday in isolation, to Philippa Lane, 18, who has cerebral palsy and misses the joy of ice cream with her family. The paper reports that due to the restrictions they have been cut off from their loved ones for almost nine months.

image captionFirst Minister Nicola Sturgeon features on the front page of the Sunday National. The paper reports she will tell the SNP’s virtual conference on Monday that independence is “essential” to rebuild the country after the Covid pandemic.

image captionThe SNP’s pledge to expand free school meals to all primary school pupils in Scotland dominates the front page of the Scotland on Sunday. Deputy First Minister John Swinney said if the party retains power after the Holyrood elections in May, it would fund free breakfasts and lunches for all children in P1-P7. The announcement was made at the SNP’s virtual conference and comes after the Scottish Conservatives announced a similar policy in September.

image captionThe Sunday Post leads with the story of a mother who is facing eviction from a flat in Malta, where she has been living with her son after her ex-partner “refused to pay the £100-a-week-rent”. Leigha Collins, from Fife, is in Malta as part of a custody battle with the child’s father.

image captionTeachers have hit out over what they say are critical gaps and weaknesses in efforts to contain Covid-19 on school campuses, with some left feeling like “lambs to the slaughter”, reports the Herald on Sunday. One secondary teacher in Glasgow told the paper that access to and advice on coronavirus testing for staff had been “pretty non-existent” – even when pupils are instructed to self-isolate after a case of the illness is identified.

image captionWriting in the Scottish Daily Mail Prime Minister Boris Johnson urges Britons not to “blow it” in the battle against coronavirus by flouting the restrictions. Mr Johnson asks people not to “jump the fence now” in a bid to reach “the sunlit upland pastures ahead”.

image captionIn a bid to placate his MPs and head off a rebellion in the Commons, Boris Johnson has said the new tier system in England could end in just nine weeks, the Sunday Telegraph reports. Writing to Conservative MPs, the prime minister has said he will allow the Commons to vote again on the new tiers in late January. The paper says the move will be seen as a “major concession” after up to 100 Tory MPs threatened to go against the government’s plan.

image captionThe Scottish Daily Express warns NHS staff are facing “unprecedented pressure” as they attempt to cope with the pandemic. Dr Lewis Morrison, chairman of the British Medical Association in Scotland, said this had led to a “massive risk of burn outs” among health workers at all levels.