Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP for Central Scotland Graham Simpson says SNP must fix their ‘fundamentally flawed’ vaccine passport scheme, before it is fully enforced on Monday.
Amid ‘chaos and confusion’ that has been caused by the SNP’s last-minute planning and broken Covid status app, many nightclubs and several football clubs have had no option but to ignore the SNP’s scheme.
However, as of Monday businesses will have to fully comply with the regulations.
Mr Simpson and the Scottish Conservatives are now urging the SNP to further delay the scheme’s enforcement to fix its fundamental flaws, before businesses are forced ‘ever closer to a devastating cliff edge’.
The Scottish Conservatives have stressed that implementing significant practical changes to the SNP’s plans now, could help mitigate some of the harms of the policy.
Mr Simpson added, “It is still not too late for the SNP to start listening.”
These changes include:
- Revising their definition of a night club to include only those late-night venues which remain open after 2am and are already likely to have trained door staff, as proposed by the Scottish Hospitality Group.
- Introducing a spot-check system in bars and nightclubs, rather than checking everyone.
- Significantly reducing the percentage of attendees that must be spot-checked at large events.
- Delaying the introduction of the scheme until at least after the new year, to allow businesses and sports venues time to properly prepare for these burdensome checks, and to support Scotland’s economic recovery in the run up to the festive season.
The Scottish Conservatives remain fundamentally opposed to the introduction of this scheme but are proposing these changes because they will allow venues and businesses to avoid the worst of the potential damage.
Commenting Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Graham Simpson said: “If the SNP refuse to scrap their vaccine passport scheme, then they must now fix the fundamental flaws that have come to the fore over the past two weeks.
“These have occurred when businesses don’t even have to legally enforce it. The launch of this scheme has been an unmitigated disaster. Businesses are no more ready to implement the SNP’s unworkable plans today, than a fortnight ago.
“Despite all the criticism, the SNP won’t press the pause button on their shambolic scheme. However, it is still not too late for the SNP to start listening.
“The Scottish Conservatives have proposed several changes to the SNP’s plans as they stand, which will help mitigate some of the worst harms of this disastrous policy.
“We are also urging the SNP to delay the start of this scheme until the new year. That will give venues adequate time to prepare for these damaging checks, and to protect the crucial ‘golden quarter’ trading, in the run up to the festive season.
“The SNP must finally start listening to business owners and act now to fix this fundamentally flawed scheme, before businesses are forced ever closer to a devastating cliff edge, as of Monday.”
Notes:
The Night time Industry Scotland described ‘chaos and confusion’ on the first weekend of the app being in place: “As anticipated, the roll out of this ill-conceived policy led to chaos and confusion in the street last night with only a handful of our customers in possession of a functioning app passport. Around 50-60 others had a photocopy or screenshot of the wrong vaccination information or other spurious evidence of vaccination.” (‘Night life reacts to passport shambles’)
The Scottish Hospitality Group have highlighted a recruitment crisis in hospitality: “There is an acute recruitment crisis across the hospitality sector in Scotland. Members of the Scottish Hospitality Group currently have over 500 outstanding vacancies.
“Should venues be responsible for the provision of staff to check vaccine passports, then this - in most cases - will require additional staff. There is not only a practical challenge in finding potential employees to recruit to these positions, but an additional cost for venues at a time when restrictions on venue capacity are impacting on businesses’ ability to break-even.
“Furthermore, it can be expected that challenging patrons for their vaccine passport will inevitably create some incidences of confrontation. It would be unfair - and potentially inconsistent with venues’ licensing obligations - to put ordinary staff in this position. As a result, if the checking of vaccine passports is expected to be done by venues, then it can only reasonably be expected to be handled by trained and accredited door staff. There is currently a shortage of accredited door staff across Scotland and hourly pay rates for this kind of trained staff member are premium. Again, the timeline in training far exceeds the time limit before implementation of the scheme going live.” (Scottish Hospitality Group submission on vaccine passports, 20.09.21, attached)
The Scottish Hospitality Group proposed the definition of a nightclub as:
• A venue open post 2am to 4am/5am
• That has a defined area for dancing only
• That has a fixed booth for a resident DJ
• A venue designed for the purpose of dancing only
• A venue where the sale of food is not applicable on or within the operating plan. (Scottish Hospitality Group submission on vaccine passports, 20.09.21)
