Recommendation 3

HM Government Acknowledged

The Government partially agrees with this recommendation. The report of the second Global Travel Taskforce was submitted to the Prime Minister and published on 9 April. On the same day the Secretary of State for Transport wrote to the Chair of the Transport Select Committee providing more detail on the content and recommendations of the report, and the Government also wrote to all Members of Parliament and Members of the House of Lords to update them on the report on 13 April. —See below for the Government’s response to each of the three sub-points above Subpoint 1 of Recommendation 3 (above) The criteria that destination countries must meet on vaccine and testing capabilities in order to reopen for travel with the UK, as well as the requirements that passengers will need to fulfil in order to travel abroad, including any relating to digital health certification 26. As outlined in the response to Recommendation 1 above, the Government will employ a “traffic light” system. Health measures for arrivals will vary according to the three categories under the “traffic light” system, as set out in the following table in the GTT report: 27. The GTT recommends the requirement for a Passenger Locator Form for arrivals from all countries, to ensure information gathering and compliance. The Passenger Locator Form is essential in ensuring that people understand and meet the requirements of entry, such as the work of the Isolation Assurance and Compliance Service in checking quarantine compliance. 28. We are exploring the role that COVID-19 status certification could play in opening up international travel in partnership with other countries, multilateral organisations and 6 Government Response to the Committee’s Fifth Report of Session 2019–21 industry organizations. As per recommendation four in the GTT report, the Government will take steps to ensure that residents are supported to prove their COVID-19 status certification for outbound travel. This work is being led by NHSX, as discussed in paragraph 55 of the GTT report. 29. International visitors will still be able to visit the UK whether or not they have been vaccinated but will need to follow the border requirements depending on the risk rating of the destination(s) they have been in prior to arrival. 30. Travel Certification will include both testing and vaccines. This will ensure that those who cannot have the vaccine are not left at a disadvantage and can demonstrate a negative COVID-19 test result for entry where it is a requirement. For as long as the scientific evidence remains unclear on the impact of vaccines on transmission, testing will continue to play a key role. Subpoint 2 of Recommendation 3 (above) When and how the current quarantine schemes will be phased out 31. As outlined above, we have set three checkpoints for the review of measures on international travel. All measures will be reviewed, as appropriate, as part of these checkpoints, which will also consider the efficacy of measures in progressing to a safe, sustainable and robust international travel system in the longer term, both for people, families and businesses, and for the wider transport and tourism industry. Subpoint 3 of Recommendation 3 (above) How the Government plans to support industry should variants or high levels of Covid-19 transmission affect the reopening schedule 32. The Government understands the strain that the COVID-19 pandemic and associated travel restrictions have placed upon our air transport and tourism industries. Throughout the pandemic we have worked closely with industry to understand their needs and provide comprehensive support packages, and this work continues. 33. The package of economic support which we have put in place has been unprecedented, including liquidity schemes and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) furlough scheme. We estimate that by the end of April 2021 the air transport sector (airlines, airports and related services) will have benefited from around £7bn of Government support since the start of the pandemic. 34. Based on official statistics from HM Revenue and Customs, 52% of passenger air transport employees were furloughed using the CJRS as of 31 January 2021. We estimate that the sector will have received around £1 billion in support through CJRS up to the end of April 2021. 35. Through the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS), we are supporting commercial airports and ground handling operators. We expect successful applicants to have received payments by the end of March 2021, with around £80m made available in grants. The renewed scheme will support airports’ and ground handlers’ fixed costs up to £4m for the first six months of financial year 2021/22. Government Response to the Committee’s Fifth Report of Session 2019–21 7 36. The AGOSS and furlough (CJRS) schemes have both been extended until September 2021. 37. Ongoing engagement with the air transport sector will be critical for the Government to be prepare