Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 17
Second Report - Covid-Status Certification
Published 12 Jun 2021
Paragraph 83
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)
The introduction a Covid-status certification system would have a serious impact on businesses and individuals and has the possibility of infringing rights and being discriminatory in nature. In light of that, we believe that it would be inappropriate for a system with such a potentially wide adverse impact to be introduced by secondary legislation. Using secondary legislation would not only not fit with the constitutional significance of the legislation but importantly it would deprive Parliament the opportunity to make amendments. Given that the Government has not made the scientific case for a Covid-status certification system, and in its own assessment the case is “finely balanced”, the introduction of such a system must be by way of primary legislation. This would allow for the full implications and ramifications of the proposals to be fully and properly considered by the Government and would also allow Parliament the appropriate amount of time to consider, scrutinise and where necessary amend the Government’s proposals.
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Second Report - Covid-Status Certification (HC 42), paragraph 83, 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".