Christopher BarrettThe secretary of state for health and social care Sajid Javid has told the BBC that the Government’s proposed scheme to require vaccine passports for entry to nightclubs and large events in England will not be going ahead.
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show he said, “We shouldn’t be doing things for the sake of it. I’m pleased to say we will not be going ahead with plans.”
The Scottish Parliament has voted to adopt a scheme to introduce vaccine passports as an entry requirement to large events in the country from 1 October.
In July, vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi said the scheme 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”.
Night Time Industries Association CEO Michael Kill has said such a scheme would cripple the industry.
The Government said the plan was to be kept “in reserve” and rolled out if deemed necessary during the autumn or winter.
Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Dayvd said, “Our issue with double vaccination certification as a sole requirement of entry was that it was highly unlikely to achieve improved safety above and beyond those measures already in place and highly likely to create a two tier night time economy which divided venues and customers. We await formal confirmation from the government of the scrapping of these problematic passports. Meanwhile we continue to encourage everyone in the live music community to please take a test before attending an event, a personal approach to risk mitigation that is highly effective and makes a real difference to the safety of gigs.”