Christopher BarrettThe NTIA has reacted angrily to the announcement by the prime minister’s spokesperson yesterday, 31 August, that the Government’s is forging ahead with its move to require all those attending nightclubs, and some other venues, to be fully vaccinated.
In July, vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi announced the scheme would be introduced later this month, and it would mean that being fully vaccinated against Covid-19 would be a condition of entry at nightclubs and other crowded indoor venues such as music venues, “or large unstructured outdoor events such as business events and festivals, or very large structured events such as business events, music and spectator sport events”.
Yesterday, the PM’s spokesperson said the plans remain very much in place despite opposition from the events industry and politicians from all parties. He said, “We set out broadly our intention to require our vaccination for nightclubs and some other settings and we’ll be coming forward in the coming weeks with details for that.”
In response, Night Time Industries Association CEO Michael Kill said confirmation that the Government will continue to press on with the Covid Passport strategy for nightclubs and indoor gatherings, even against a furious backlash from MP’s across the House of Commons and industry leaders was disappointing. He suggested the move would cripple the industry.
Said Kill, “Surely the Government can see this is not workable. The challenges are endless, and the sector will be hit extremely hard by this decision, embroiled in discrimination cases, staffing and supply chain shortages, tourism and so on..”
“We are trying to rebuild. The Government’s attempt to differentiate between businesses within our sector is extremely difficult, even for people who live and breathe this industry. Whether it be market segmentation or capacity limits, it’s not a workable position, there are too many variables and the businesses are too diverse, it cannot be easily categorised.”
“The Government needs to listen to real operators who can give them real feedback on these challenges, these policy decisions will have a catastrophic impact on people’s livelihoods and careers.”