THERE is no doubt that the Covid pandemic has placed a huge strain on mental health. It’s one of the harms we must pay attention to when we assess the overall impact of the crisis.

Whether it’s the restrictions on seeing friends and family, or the inability to socialise or go the office as normal, or the need to adapt to new ways of living, it has been and continues to be hugely stressful. It is important that as part of our overall response, the government thinks about how we can address this impact on wellbeing.

The pressure is felt by everyone, but one group of people who have faced particular pressures recently are students.

In Glasgow alone there are around 130,000 students studying at our colleges and universities. Over the part couple of months, many of them will have been living away from home for the first time.

Starting university or college, with all that it entails, can be challenging enough in ordinary times – but there is no doubt that the pandemic has made this an especially tough year, particularly for those who found themselves having to self-isolate.

This is why we decided to invest an additional £1.3 million to improve mental health and wellbeing support for students.

Individual colleges and universities will be able to decide precisely how to spend the extra money to best suit the needs of their students. For example, they might choose to expand welfare and counselling services, or online drop-in services, or provide better access to food deliveries and other necessities.

We want to offer reassurance to students, and families who will no doubt be worried about them, that there is practical and welfare support in place to help them through this uncertain time.

Of course, it’s not just social restrictions that add pressure to people’s lives and impact on their mental health.

Financial worries, at any time, cause stress and anxiety – and unfortunately we know these are increasing as a result of the economic harms caused by the pandemic.

Recent figures have shown that the amount paid out in crisis grants to people in need increased by more than three quarters in the early stages of lockdown – that is a deeply worrying statistic, even though it is important that crisis support is available.

Money worries, particularly for families on low incomes, are something we absolutely must try to help with.

Even before the pandemic, the Scottish Government had decided to introduce a new benefit – the Scottish Child Payment. It will give families on low incomes an extra £10 per week for each child in the family. In the first phase it will be payable for children up to age six – and on full roll-out for all children up to age 16.

Last summer, when we announced the policy, it was described by child poverty campaigners as a “game changer”.

Now, with the challenges caused by Covid, it is more important than ever.

Thankfully, we have managed to minimise the Covid-related delay to getting the new payment up and running, and as of this week, the Scottish Child Payment is open for applications for children up to age six. Significantly more families are now relying on benefits due to the Covid pandemic – many perhaps for the first time – and so I hope this payment will help tackle child poverty head on.

Our ability to deliver these payments will benefit significant numbers of children in poverty – almost 60 per cent live in a household where the youngest child is aged under six, so it will make a difference even in the first phase.

Crucially, there are no limits to the number of children each family can claim the benefit for – this differs from the approach taken to Universal Credit and Child Tax Credits by the UK Government, where payments are limited to just two children per family.

The Scottish Child Payment together with other Scottish Government support, such as the Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods, will provide over £5200 of financial support for low income families by the time their first child turns six.

No child should grow up experiencing poverty in a country as rich as Scotland, and I am determined to ensure that families receive as much support as possible to give children the very best start in life.

I hope the new payment will help to lift some pressure from families at a difficult time by putting extra money in their pockets. I encourage all parents and carers who may be eligible to apply as soon as possible.

More generally, I know it can be hard just now to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, but it will appear if we all continue to do the right things.

We must all play our part by sticking to the rules and limiting, as much as possible, our contact with other households. And we should remember to look out for each other too.

Stopping the spread of Covid starts with all of us, and if we all remember this, I know we will get through it.