Brian Whittle MSP has urged Nicola Sturgeon to deliver on promises to provide more information about how the Scottish Government’s Covid Passport scheme will work when it’s launched on the 1st of October.
The Scottish Conservative MSP, who is a member of Holyrood’s Covid Recovery Committee challenged the First Minister in the Chamber after experts giving evidence to the Committee said the Scottish Government had failed make a convincing case for the scheme to the public.
The Scottish Government have been criticised by opposition politicians and members of the hospitality industry for their proposals. A number of senior figures in the hospitality industry, as well as football clubs and large sports venues have voiced concerns that they haven’t been consulted or given enough information about the scheme to properly prepare for it.
Among the concerns are a lack of clarity over how the technology to scan and verify people’s Covid certification will work and objections to how the Scottish Government propose to define nightclubs, with hotels and other venues worried they’ll fall under the definition.
Brian Whittle MSP said: “From the moment the Scottish Government announced this scheme, there were signs that it hadn’t been thought through.
From the Law Society of Scotland to the SPFL to the Scottish hospitality trade, we’ve heard the same story time and again. Vague guidance, no consultation and uncertainty about how Covid passports will affect business.
The Scottish Government gave promises to the Covid Recovery Committee and to Holyrood about providing detailed information and evidence for its decisions. Now we’re less than a week away from the scheme going live and we’re still waiting.
It’s vital that the public understand how measures to prevent Covid-19 work and why they’re necessary if they’re to be effective. In this case, the SNP have failed to meet those tests.
These rushed, half formed proposals risk doing more harm than good, sowing confusion and putting strain on the fragile recovery in of hospitality businesses.”
