Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 5
Second Report - Covid-Status Certification
Published 12 Jun 2021
Paragraph 27
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Covid 19 Vaccine Certification All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recognise that conducting detailed modelling, especially with so many unknown variables and uncertainties, is difficult and imprecise. Nonetheless, we believe that it is the best guide to the potential impacts of the range of different scenarios that cannot necessarily be directly tested. We expect all such modelling to be published alongside any announcement. If such modelling has not been conducted, the Government should provide a clear explanation for why they have opted not to use modelling and what account they have taken of different scenarios in its absence.
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Second Report - Covid-Status Certification (HC 42), paragraph 27, 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".