Scots hospitality group condemns 'ludicrous' plans for vaccine passports

The four nations of the UK have been in discussions about the so-called vaccine passports, which the First Minister has said may be "possible" in the future.

The UK Government is set to trial re-opening large events in England to crowds amid conflicting reports over when a vaccine passport scheme could be rolled out in the face of opposition from politicians of all colours.

But more than 70 MPs, including 40 Conservatives, as well as peers from the House of Lords, have signed a pledge against the introduction of "vaccine passports" in England, claiming they would be "divisive and discriminatory". The Scottish Lib Dems have urged caution over the idea.

But the Scottish Hospitality Group which represents 200 businesses across Scotland which already fears for the future after a lengthy Covid-19 lockdown said it was "unimaginable" to live in a world where "hospitality operators are forced to discriminated against customers based on their health choices".

In developing the scheme, officials will take into account three factors, whether an individual has received the vaccine, has recently tested negative for the virus, or has “natural immunity” having tested positive in the previous six months.

They are likely to be used for large events, like sporting fixtures and concerts, or for entry to places were social distancing is hard to maintain, like theatres, nightclubs and bars.

READ MORE: 'The sector is on its knees': Scots hospitality group threatens to take ministers to court over trading times

Settings where certification will not be required include essential shops and public transport.

And the SHG has said it would be "totally absurd" to add more restrictions to hospitality if there is no discussion about supermarkets or retail being required to check vaccine passports.

Stephen Montgomery, the Scottish Hospitality Group spokesman, who owns The Townhead Hotel in Lockerbie said: “Requiring customers to show any sort of passport confirming whether they have been vaccinated would be dangerous, not only for businesses but for society in general.

“For an industry that is already drowning in red tape and has felt the full force of restrictions for over a year, adding another layer of restrictions and putting the impetus on individual business owners and staff to check the Covid status of customers on arrival would be an absolute nightmare.

“Not only that, but it would pit those vaccinated against those who have not received the jab yet, have chosen not to get one, or simply haven’t had a strong enough immune response.

“When international travel is allowed again it will throw up even more issues; how can hospitality operators be expected to differentiate between valid or fake vaccine passports from other countries?

“We have repeatedly said that people will find a way to drink and to socialise, and the events of last year confirm this, with the police having to break up ongoing house parties. It feels like one of the most important sectors of the business world is being eradicated."

Speaking at the coronavirus briefing yesterday the First Minister said that "we should consider how we use some kind of vaccine certification" going forward.

She admitted there are "big ethical and equity questions about vaccine passports and certification".

They included what happens to those who cannot get vaccinated for medical reasons.

"So we need to think through all of this," she said.

READ MORE: Hospitality industry slams Scottish Government-backed study that doubts if bars can stop Covid-19 transmission

"The Scottish Government is thinking about it and we are participating in the international and UK-wide work well. So, it's not something that I think is practical right now, but in the future it is possible, and I think it's important that we give it proper and due consideration."

It comes after Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, warned that people will have to be "alert" to Covid-19 for many years to come.

He said that vaccine passports could be considered as part of wider measures to make activities safe while living with the virus.

Prof Woolhouse said that, while a lot of workplaces, retail and hospitality can be made safer with measures such as social distancing and screens, passports could be used for nightclubs and mass gatherings.

Ministers have said that the passport could involve the use of the NHS app, although they acknowledge there will have to be an option for paper certificates for those who do not have access to the digital option.

The SHG has already threatened to take ministers to court over its plans to release Scotland from lockdown.

It says that ministers should improve the trading times allowed under more relaxed Covid-19 restrictions, warning that pubs and restaurants will go to the wall, because the current plans to ease hospitality lockdown from April 26 is "unviable."

Pubs remain closed in Scotland until April 26 at the earliest, when they should be able to open but with alcohol outdoors only. This will be followed by fuller-indoor reopening on May 17, but there is still no date for when all restrictions will be removed.

The sector had called for alcohol to be allowed indoors till 10pm or 10.30pm with a main meal as mainland Scotland moves into Level 3 in Scotland's tier system on April 26.

What they got was a demand to close by 8pm indoors with no alcohol served. Outdoors alcohol can be served till 10pm.

READ MORE: 'Shut down rogue pubs and restaurants over Covid breaches', says Scots hospitality group

On vaccine passports, the SHG said that it should be the public’s choice if they go to a pub, bar, or restaurant, and it argued it would be "totally unethical" to take that away.

It was concern that the passports could be forged and would risk creating a segregated society with young people, who would be last to receive the vaccine.

Mr Montgomery added: “The hospitality industry is on its knees and while many other sectors will open on April 26, large swathes of our industry will remain closed, and many other businesses will simply not be able to trade viably due to the arbitrary levels systems and its restrictions on alcohol consumption and closing times being imposed on us by a Scottish Government who we have tried to work with over the last year.

“Instead of considering ludicrous proposals such as vaccine passports, the government would be better spending its time looking at how it can help businesses survive these next few months and support the sector to rebuild, including drink-led pubs and nightclubs, that still have no idea when they will be able to reopen.”

The British Beer and Pub Association (BPPA) fears that a move to recommend that pubs and other hospitality venues must demand proof of immunity from people to allow them to enter - with the threat of fines for venues if non-compliant - could prevent millions of young people visiting the pub for months, unless they get themselves tested in advance.

BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin says vaccine passports could feel like they are discriminating against sections of the population who have not had the jab, such as pregnant women.

The First Minister insisted that a cautious approach is needed as restrictions are eased, even with the vaccine rollout – pointing to experiences across the world that could provide lessons for Scotland.

She said: “We see right now across the world – France has just gone into another lockdown, so the virus is still there and it’s still dangerous.

“Chile is a country worth looking at right now which has made great progress in vaccination, but cases are soaring again, its health services are under great pressure and it’s having to re-impose restrictions.

“We’ve got to, in seeking to manage it and get ourselves back to normal, we’ve got to be careful.”

But Scottish Lib Dem leader, Willie Rennie has warned that rolling our vaccine passports could lead to “super ID cards by the back door” following First Minister’s comments on being open to all possibilities including vaccine passports.

Mr Rennie added: “Vaccine passports will divide the country, effectively make vaccination compulsory and pave the way for a permanent ID card.

“The SNP have always been sympathetic to big brother ID cards and tried to introduce a super ID database incorporating information from 120 public bodies.

“Liberal Democrats oppose the use of vaccine passports for accessing public spaces, services and events.

“The best way to keep our country safe is suppress the community spread of the virus by vaccinating almost everyone.”

The UK Government is working on the development of a “Covid status certification” scheme, the so-called “vaccine passport” for use in England.

Officials are working with clinical and ethical experts to ensure there are “appropriate exemptions” for people who are advised to the vaccine and for whom repeat testing would be difficult.

Boris Johnson is expected to set out more details for the passport scheme in England tomorrow.

He has suggested a certificate could give "maximum confidence" to businesses and customers as society reopens.

But businesses opening in England on April 12, including pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops, will not be required to introduce certification.

He said: “We have made huge strides over the past few months with our vaccine programme and everyone in the country has made huge sacrifices to get us to this stage in our recovery from Covid-19.

“We are doing everything we can to enable the reopening of our country so people can return to the events, travel and other things they love as safely as possible, and these reviews will play an important role in allowing this to happen.”

The IT company helping the UK Government with a possible Covid-19 passport app has said its technology is “an efficient, secure and scalable solution” that will support the safe reopening of society.

Netcompany has already confirmed its digital Corona passport app will be used in Denmark and is expected to be ready in May.

Thousands of revellers will return to a dancefloor for the first club night in more than a year as part of Government trials to gather evidence on how venues can reopen without the need for social distancing.

Around 6,000 people will descend on a warehouse at Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool on April 30 and May 1 – with up to 3,000 punters allowed in each night – for the Circus club event.

Club owner and DJ Yousef Zaher, best known as Yousef, said he can picture “super excited” revellers jumping around in a circle “going nuts” and seeing people they have not seen in a “long, long time” in a safe environment.

People who want to attend must live within a Liverpool postcode and will be subject to a Covid-19 lateral flow test which must be negative before they gain entry to the club, as well as a second test some time after the event, he said.

The Government trials will take place in the hope of enabling the safe return of crowds to mass gatherings and will include Wembley football cup finals, a comedy club in Liverpool, and three 10K races.

Liverpool City Council has confirmed that events taking place in the city as part of the trials will not require people to show Covid-19 vaccine passports.

A spokesman for the council said on Sunday: “The line which was briefed out yesterday by the Government about Liverpool’s events being included in the vaccine passports trials is incorrect – none of our events in Liverpool will involve them.”