Chamber and committees

I will follow on from Mr Fairlie’s questions on COP26. One of the things that we learned from the European championships was that a balance has to be struck between risk and benefit. We recognise that bringing together people from different countries will significantly increase infection rate, and COP26 will be an even more significant risk, given the number of countries that are involved. Will Mr Matheson comment on the evidence on that balance between safety and benefit? Is it the Government’s intention to publish the evidence?

I will start by reiterating the concern that there has been a lack of meaningful consultation prior to the decision to implement the scheme. Witnesses have also talked about the case having yet to be demonstrated in the public domain. My concern, of course, is that the evidence does not actually exist.

Looking through some of the papers, I note that one of the biggest disparities in vaccination uptake relates to ethnicity, and that there is significantly less uptake among the black, Asian and minority ethnic community than there is among majority of our population. Do you think that that has been taken into consideration? Will the vaccination passport tackle the concern about ethnicity? My view is that the Government’s plan to increase vaccination uptake will likely incentivise only those who frequent the likes of nightclubs and football stadiums, and that it will continue to drive that inequality in our society. I ask Professor Montgomery to start on that.

I have one brief final question. The Ada Lovelace submission suggests that the Scottish Government has a responsibility to

“protect against errors, harm and discrimination”.

We all recognise that the introduction of new technology needs a lead time ahead of going live to protect against those issues and against data breaches. There is a distinct lack of time and preparation here. Should that concern us?

I put that question to Professor Montgomery, as it relates to his submission.

I have a quick follow-up question. A key element of COP26 will be the fringe events, at which delegates might interact with those who are not delegates and therefore might not have gone through that stringent testing procedure. What consideration has the Government given to putting in place safety protocols in that respect?

In a similar vein, the Scottish Government has told us that, in essence, vaccination passports are being introduced to drive people’s behaviour towards getting vaccinated. However, the hospitality sector has indicated an inequality in that respect. It is concerned that if venues offer similar services but have a different designation, the public will be driven away from places that require a vaccination passport and towards those that do not.

I will ask Mr Gowans to comment on that first, given that he was last to respond to my previous question.

Mr Stevenson, you represent a wide variety of venues. The technology that is required to read QR codes will be problematic for many of the venues that you represent, and there is a cost implication for them as well. Will you comment on that?

Good morning. Dr McMillan, it might be a bit like slamming the stable door after the horse has bolted, but the concern in Parliament is that there has been a lack of scrutiny of the policy because of the way in which it has been rushed through. Given that emergency Covid legislation was properly scrutinised in Parliament in a very short time, would Dr McMillan suggest that primary legislation should have been the route for vaccination passport legislation?

The issue is not only that they have to form an opinion on the definition of reasonable measures, but that they have to implement it within two weeks. You will understand the concern that there is potential for offences to be committed.

As I discussed with Neil Doncaster, vaccination passport checks will be implemented by all clubs, even small ones, because there is potential for crowd size to be taken beyond 10,000 people when bigger clubs visit. You will recognise that there are varying abilities to finance that. One of Neil Doncaster’s suggestions was that initially, in phase 1, as the technology is being introduced, it would be more practical to instigate spot checks. Has the Government considered that?

Good morning, cabinet secretary and Professor Leitch. I will ask a question that I also asked during the previous evidence session. Given that venues may be committing an offence if they do not “take all reasonable measures”, what involvement did the industry that is affected have in developing what constitutes “reasonable measures”? Gavin Stevenson suggested that the Scottish Licensed Trade Association was not consulted at all on the matter. To make it work properly, all the sectors will have to understand what constitutes a reasonable measure in a wide variety of potential venues.