Chamber and committees

If the committee does not mind, I will go round members in reverse order this time.

I am conscious of the time. John Mason is next.

I apologise to other members who wanted to ask more questions, but we are really pushed for time. That concludes our consideration of the agenda item. I thank the Deputy First Minister and his officials for their time today.

We now move to consideration of the motion on the made affirmative instrument that was considered under the previous item. Deputy First Minister, would you like to make any more remarks on the Scottish statutory instrument before we vote on the motion?

Mr Stevenson, are bars and nightclubs using the track and trace QR codes that are already in place in restaurants as people gain entry?

We will have the opportunity to ask scientific evidence-based questions in the next evidence session with the medical experts.

As members have no further questions, I thank the witnesses for their evidence and for giving us their time. It has been informative. If they would like to raise any further points with the committee, they can do so in writing. The clerks would be happy to liaise with them about how to do that.

I suspend the meeting to allow for a changeover of witnesses. I advise members that there will be time for a short comfort break.

At item 2, we will take evidence from a range of stakeholders on vaccination certification. I welcome to the meeting Neil Doncaster, the chief executive of the Scottish Professional Football League and a member of Scottish football’s Covid-19 joint response group; Gavin Stevenson of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association; and Dr Catriona McMillan, the convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s health and medical law sub-committee.

On 1 September, the Scottish Government announced its intention to introduce and put in place a vaccination certification system by 1 October. The purpose of today’s meeting is to take evidence from stakeholders on the proposed scheme. Some of its details are still to be worked out, so we intend to listen to your views and feed them back to the Scottish ministers directly in our regular evidence sessions with them. Any issues that you raise will also inform our scrutiny of any relevant legislation that is introduced to give effect to the scheme. Your input is very valuable to the committee.

I will ask the first question. What are the key issues for the committee to consider in scrutinising the implementation of the proposed scheme?

Thank you, cabinet secretary. We will turn to questions, and I will start by asking a few.

I welcome the recent implementation of the QR code for international travel, but what measures are in place for people who do not have access to the internet or a compatible mobile phone, or those who are digitally excluded?

In recent weeks, there have been problems with the recognition of vaccinations that took place outwith the Scottish national health service, such as where people had one vaccination in England and one in Scotland. I have a constituent who had two vaccinations in America, but those are not recognised by NHS Scotland when it comes to providing him with a vaccination certificate. What discussions has the Scottish Government had with the UK Government, the European Union or other countries regarding mutual recognition of vaccinations for vaccination passports for international travellers?

Are members content for motions S6M-00699, S6M-00697, S6M-00696, S6M-00698, S6M-00727, S6M-00726, S6M-00903, S6M-00833 and S6M-00976 to be moved en bloc?

Members indicated agreement.

Motions moved

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 13) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/237) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel etc.) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) (No. 3) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/254) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 14) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/256) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel etc.) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) (No. 4) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/261) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel etc.) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) (No. 5) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/264) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel etc.) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) (No. 6) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/265) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 15) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/275) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel etc.) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) (No. 7) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/278) be approved.

That the COVID-19 Recovery Committee recommends that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 16) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/290) be approved.—[Michael Matheson]

Motions agreed to.

The committee will in due course publish a report to the Parliament setting out our decision on the statutory instruments that have been considered at this meeting.

That concludes our consideration of the item and our time with the cabinet secretary. I thank the cabinet secretary and his officials for their attendance this morning.

The committee’s next meeting will be on 16 September, when we will take evidence from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery on ministerial statements on Covid-19, the Coronavirus (Extension and Expiry) (Scotland) Act 2021 reports to the Scottish Parliament, and subordinate legislation.

That concludes the public part of our meeting.