Chamber and committees

As with other Covid measures, we are under a legal duty to review the necessity of the regulations every three weeks. We have a duty to review the necessity and proportionality of the recommendations, and policy decisions at the review points will be informed by a range of evidence from the four harms perspective, with which Parliament will be familiar.

The review will measure the certification programme outcomes against the policy objectives of increasing vaccination uptake and reducing the prevalence of Covid-19 and the pressures on the national health service. A key factor in the review will be to ensure that the policy impact remains proportionate for the business sector and society at large. The certification regulations are due to expire on 28 February 2022, but we do not want to have the scheme in place for any longer than is necessary. Therefore, if evidence and clinical advice indicate that certification is no longer required, we will remove it.

We are acting to address any particular issues that individuals face on a systemic basis. A number of the points in relation to the common travel area have been resolved already, and we will work as expeditiously as we can to ensure that all the potential scenarios that may emerge can be properly and fairly addressed.

I suspect that the number of cases in such scenarios will be relatively limited. I encourage individuals, should they be unable to be vaccinated for the reason that Emma Roddick outlined, to raise such circumstances with the national helpline.

We are, obviously, trying to ensure that we have in place a proportionate intervention that ensures that we strengthen safety, that we minimise the risk of transmission in certain venues and that we boost the level of vaccine uptake, into the bargain. Those are the objectives that we are trying to achieve. We encourage individuals to secure the necessary vaccination certification to enable us to achieve the policy objectives of that intervention.

If Jackie Baillie wishes to share with me the details of that case, I will, of course, have it investigated.

There will, inevitably, be technical challenges in the roll-out of any scheme of this nature. Obviously, we try to minimise them. Where we identify particular problems, we work to address them as quickly as possible.

As I said, if Jackie Baillie furnishes me with the details of that case, I will address it and respond to her and her constituent directly. I am sorry that her constituent was unable to access facilities, as a consequence.

We have identified the following three criteria for exemptions: being under 18 years of age, being a participant in a vaccine trial and being unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons. We are working on the medical conditions that would most closely be linked with a patient being unable to be immunised. We expect that the number of people in such a position is very small. All clinical trial participants have already received from the principal investigator a letter that can be used as proof of their trial status.

We are developing an approval process for medical exemptions. We will publish the detail of how that will work before its implementation, along with the necessary guidance. If any issues arise out of that guidance, I encourage people to contact the national helpline on the number that I gave earlier.

In relation to the scenario in which people have been vaccinated in other countries, the scheme will recognise people who have been vaccinated with a vaccine that has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Before the scheme goes live, we will put in place an interim process to enable residents of Scotland who have had a dose outside Scotland to have their vaccination record updated. Visitors from the rest of the United Kingdom and the wider common travel area will be able to use their existing Covid status apps with QR codes, and paper-based certificates, to gain entry to relevant venues in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is working to ensure that Ayrshire recovers and prospers as it emerges from the pandemic. The Ayrshire growth deal will see the Scottish Government invest £103 million over 10 years across Ayrshire by funding projects such as the great harbour and the Ayrshire manufacturing investment corridor. We are supporting the development of Ayrshire’s regional economic partnership, which will set out a strategic vision for the region. Ayrshire will also benefit from national policies that are included in our 10-year national strategy for economic transformation, our fair work first approach and our infrastructure investment plan.

I recently had a very helpful discussion with Citizens Advice Scotland in which it explained its wider assessment of the impact of financial hardship on our society and the dangers of changes such as the reduction of universal credit. If the universal credit cut takes place, it is estimated that it will push 60,000 Scots into poverty and hundreds of thousands of others into hardship.

I have just come from a discussion with my ministerial colleagues about the measures that the Scottish Government is taking to address child poverty and ensure that we have in place effective support so that our objectives are achieved and we protect individuals as far as we can from the negative effects of a reduction in universal credit, which would inflict hardship on many citizens in our country.

I quite clearly accept that there is a difference of opinion between the Government and those bodies. However, I invite them and the Conservative Party to think about what the alternative is. The alternative is that many of the sectors would have to close because of the levels of infection in society. We do not want that, so we are trying to take proportionate action to prevent that situation from prevailing. That is the type of proportionate action that the Welsh Government is taking, and it is the type of proportionate action that the United Kingdom Government is prepared to take should it judge that to be necessary.

We are engaged in dialogue with the sectors and we have set out the basis on which the scheme will operate. Further details will be set out in due course and it will be implemented, as the First Minister confirmed yesterday, at 5 am on 1 October.

Any suspected errors in a person’s vaccination record should be reported to the Covid-19 vaccination status helpline on 0808 196 8565. The helpline can resolve issues only in relation to vaccinations administered in Scotland. We are aware that some health boards are experiencing increased requests to update vaccination records. People can do that via the helpline. People who received their vaccine from a general practitioner can still register online to receive their vaccination record if it is required for international travel.