Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Conclusion 1
Second Report - Covid-Status Certification
Published 12 Jun 2021
Paragraph 7
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Covid 19 Vaccine Certification All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
It is clear that the idea of certificates has been under consideration within government for at least six months. Ministers and officials have given conflicting statements on the possibility of certification being introduced as a measure, and on the extent to which proposals were actively under review. At times, these statements have been directly contradictory. At the very least, this demonstrates a lack of coordination and effective interworking between different departments and teams in the Government’s response to Covid. On at least two occasions, a Minister has said that certificates were actively being considered, only for the suggestion to be immediately denied by another Minister. Given that the review into the potential use of Covid-status certification was subsequently launched, this indicates either that several senior members of the Government were unaware of the Government’s policy direction in this area, or there was an effort to downplay to the public the seriousness with which the introduction of a Covid-status certification system was being considered. Either way, the Government’s approach to certification has risked damaging trust in government and in the measures put in place to tackle the pandemic.
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Second Report - Covid-Status Certification (HC 42), paragraph 7, 12 June 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 9 September 2021.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response does not accept the Committee's recommendation to abandon domestic Covid-status certification, stating that it "believes that certification would have a public health benefit" and will keep its wider application under consideration.
- On the Committee's view that no case has been made for certification, the government says it "believes that certification would provide a public health benefit", and that it is "encouraging the use of the NHS COVID Pass" for nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather.
- On costs and modelling, it says the cost of certification "will differ depending on the final model used" and will be assessed against economic and social benefits "as we consider any wider introduction". Published Events Research Programme findings will be made available "in due course".
- On legislation and the Equalities Impact Assessment, it will provide the Assessment "ahead of the introduction of any legislation that may be required", and says the approach to any legislation "will be set out in due course".
- The Prime Minister has said the government plans to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather by the end of September; it will "set out more detail" on affected settings "in due course".