A campaign group in Scotland has been granted Core Participant Status in the hearings.

Charities and campaigners have welcomed the announcement that refugees and asylum seekers will have a stake in Scotland’s Covid-19 inquiry. 

The inquiry is investigating the devolved strategic response to the pandemic in Scotland throughout 2020, 2021 and 2022. 

The independent process will include views from academics, charities and other experts, looking at key themes of health and social care, education and young people, and finance, business and welfare.

Applications for core participant status relating to health and social care closed today, with the core participant and funding application process to be reopened again later this year to invite applications from parties relating to education and young people, and business and welfare.

As part of the process, campaign group Refugees for Justice announced that it had been granted core participant status. 

The group described it as “a big day for all refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland”, adding that this brought them “one step closer to justice, accountability, and change”. 

The decision was welcomed by MSPs, charities and other campaigners. 

Naomi McAuliffe, head of Amnesty Scotland, wrote on Twitter: “This is brilliant news and so important that refugees and asylum seekers will be heard in this Public Inquiry. It certainly wasn't a given before now.”