Question reference: S6W-03467
- Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 30 September 2021
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Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by John Swinney on 30 September 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the legislation that it will introduce to implement COVID-19 vaccine certification.
Answer
The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2021, which amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, were made today and will take effect on Friday, 1 October 2021, with the offence provisions coming into effect on 18 October.
The Regulations implement the Scottish Government’s COVID-19 vaccine certification scheme. The scheme is intended to add to the other control measures currently in place and help reduce the rate and impact of transmission of coronavirus while seeking to alleviate the economic harm caused by its transmission. The Regulations support the Scottish Government’s strategic intent to “suppress the virus to a level consistent with alleviating its harms while we recover and rebuild for a better future”.
In line with our strategic intent, the COVID-19 vaccine certification scheme will allow us to meet the following aims:
• reduce risk of transmission;
• reduce risk of serious illness and death and in doing so alleviate pressure on the healthcare system;
• to allow high risk settings to continue to operate as an alternative to closure or more restrictive measures; and
• increase vaccine uptake.
The Regulations provide that late night premises and premises where a relevant event is taking place must operate a reasonable system for checking that persons on, or seeking to enter, their premises are fully vaccinated against coronavirus or are exempt from the requirement to demonstrate that they are fully vaccinated. Relevant premises must also prepare a compliance plan describing how their systems will operate and other measures in place to prevent or minimise the spread of coronavirus.
The Regulations enable a local authority to take appropriate steps to enforce the requirement to operate a vaccine checking system and introduce a right of entry for persons designated by a local authority to enter premises to which this requirement applies. The Regulations also remove capacity limits on stadia and live events above which a capacity exemption application must be approved by a local authority.
The Regulation provides that the system will come into place on 1 October but that the enforcement provisions will be delayed until 18 October, when those provisions come into effect.
The regulations amended by this regulation require Scottish Ministers to review the requirements at least once every 21 days and the regulations require Scottish Ministers to revoke any requirement as soon as it is no longer necessary.
The Regulations have been published at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2021/349/contents/made .