Chamber and committees

I will follow on from the convener’s questions and her comments about evidence. Perhaps Professor Montgomery could answer first.

To put the debate into context, there are people who are ideologically opposed to vaccination passports in all circumstances. Most people are not in that category. The replies that we have heard today show that there is an issue of balance. There are human rights considerations to the introduction of vaccination certification, but human rights must be balanced against the public health objectives of any such scheme.

You have all talked to a degree about evidence. My question is to Professor Montgomery in the first instance. Is the evidence base solid and has the Scottish Government made a compelling case for the introduction of vaccination passports in the short timescale proposed? Does that evidence outweigh people’s human rights concerns at this point?

Thank you. I ask Judith Robertson the same question.

I will ask the same question to Rob Gowans, but I will throw in something else. In the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland’s written submission, you ask for a

“thorough and robust Equality Impact Assessment ... and a Human Rights Impact Assessment ... on the impact of introducing vaccine passports”.

You also ask that any scheme is

“co-produced with disabled people, people living with long term conditions, unpaid carers”.

To your knowledge, have either of those things been done, prior to the introduction of the scheme?

A few moments ago, we were discussing the situation in other countries. I am aware that in France, for example, people are given the opportunity to provide a negative test result as an alternative to vaccination certification. If the Scottish Government were to go down that route, would that alleviate the concerns that you have about the human rights issues that we have discussed?

I want to ask about polymerase chain reaction tests for international travellers.

I welcome the regulations that open up private sector test providers for travellers, because a number of constituents have raised complaints with me about the cost of doing the PCR test through the one previously designated provider. However, there is an outstanding issue of which you will be aware. The UK Government has announced its intention to remove the requirement for international travellers who have been double jabbed to have a PCR test when travelling. On Tuesday, the First Minister indicated that the Scottish Government was considering what steps it would take in that respect.

The travel industry has been vocal on that matter, as I am sure you are aware. It is concerned that Scottish residents who are looking to book last-minute travel for the October break will now look to fly from an English airport because they will then avoid the requirement for a PCR test, and that that will be to the detriment of the Scottish travel industry and Scottish airports. Every day that goes by potentially costs the Scottish travel industry because people are making those bookings right now. When will we get a decision from the Scottish Government on that issue?

Okay. Thank you, cabinet secretary.

Thank you, Professor Montgomery. Before I ask Judith Robertson to comment, I will try to draw together what you just said. I do not want to put words in your mouth, but if I were to sum up what you said, it is that in your view the case has not yet been made for the introduction of vaccination certification in Scotland.

I have a question for Catriona McMillan. It is a follow-up to John Mason’s question about ethical objections to vaccination passports.

I have had correspondence from one constituent who has a religious objection to vaccination. Some religious groups are in that position. Do you have any views on the human rights aspects of vaccination passports in that context, given that religious belief is a protected characteristic?

I have been contacted by individuals living in England and Northern Ireland who have season tickets for Scottish clubs and who hope to travel to Scotland in two weeks’ time to attend a football match. However, as things stand, I understand that there is no technology that allows those who have certification from outside Scotland to be permitted to access Scottish events. Do you have any clarity about that issue, or do you have any sense of how that will be resolved?

That is very helpful.

I have one more question. It is on the slightly different issue of vaccination certification, and it came from a constituent who emailed me this week. He said that he downloaded his record of vaccination and was able to change every element on the certificate. In fact, he sent me a copy of his download, in which he had changed all the information. He was even able to remove large sections of the QR code. Is that an issue? How robust is the security around this? Although I hope that only a small minority of the population would ever seek to amend their vaccination certificate, how robust are the mechanisms to make sure that it does not become a widespread problem?