Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thank you, cabinet secretary. I think that that would be helpful and is perhaps something that we can discuss with your officials separately.

I want to ask a couple of follow-ups to the convener’s questions. Constituents of mine who are travelling to France for family reasons are concerned that the QR code will not be available in time. I understand that it was made available as of Friday last week, but it would be helpful if you could confirm that. To the best of your knowledge, is it working well? Have there been any problems with it, or is it too early to say?

Before I come to my substantial questions, I want to ask a process question. Cabinet secretary, it looks as though you are sitting in your ministerial office, which is a few feet away from our committee room. Is there any particular reason why you are not joining us in the committee room, which, from our point of view, would be a better venue and would enable us to have a more helpful exchange than we can have with you sitting in your office contributing via videolink?

I have just one more question for, I think, Professor Leitch, given that he is the expert on vaccinations.

The convener asked about the problems of those who have been vaccinated overseas, but another issue that lies closer to home relates to those who participated in early vaccine trials and who therefore did not get certification. In fact, my colleague Douglas Lumsden, who is a North East Scotland MSP, falls within that category, and last week he raised the issue with the First Minister, in the chamber. Has that issue now been resolved and are those who took part in vaccine trials able to get certification?

To go back to the issue of vaccine passports, John Mason mentioned COP26, which will be held in Glasgow in November. I assume that, under the plans being announced by the Scottish Government, everyone attending COP26 will have to provide proof of double vaccination. Is that the case?

My question is on SSI 2021/277, which requires, subject to some exemptions, that face coverings should still be worn in some indoor spaces. That was the subject of some discussion in the Parliament’s Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee on Tuesday of this week. It identified that

“The guidance ... states that face coverings are not required to be worn while dancing in a nightclub or dance hall. However, a specific exemption for dancing is not listed in the instrument.”—[Official Report, Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, 31 August 2021; c 2.]

I ask for clarity on that issue. Has there been an omission from the terms of the instrument?

I would like to raise one more issue in relation to Covid vaccination, if I may. I go back to correspondence on the issue that I have received from constituents. My question is about the practical implementation of the measures. We know from what was announced yesterday that vaccine certification will be required for outdoor events that are attended by more than 10,000 people.

We can see what would happen at football or rugby matches, for example. As I understand it, 50,000 people turning up at Murrayfield, Hampden, Ibrox or Parkhead would be required to have proof of vaccination. From a practical point of view, how would you expect that to be addressed? It would require the authorities at stadia to employ stewards to check people as they arrive. I presume that they would have to have the technology to be able to do that and that there would be training and cost implications, as well as issues with supply of the technology. Has the Scottish Government given thought to how those issues might be dealt with? What timescale are you looking at for the introduction of the measures, given that all those issues have to be considered?

Good morning, gentlemen. I am sure that I am not the only MSP either in this committee or in Parliament who has had, overnight, a large number of concerns raised by constituents about the Scottish Government’s announcement yesterday on the introduction of vaccine passports or vaccine certification. I have a number of questions that I would like to ask about that announcement and the practicalities of it.

I will start by trying to understand the policy intent behind the measure. We know that double vaccination, although it helps to protect individuals against the symptoms of Covid-19, is not in itself a protection against people either catching the illness or carrying it and passing it on to others. Against that backdrop, what is the primary reason for the Scottish Government considering the measure? Is it to prevent the spread of Covid-19, or is it more about pushing those who are presently resistant to getting vaccinated, particularly younger people, down the route of taking up vaccination?

Thank you. I am sure that we could pursue the matter in great detail, but I think that the discussion highlights the need for a degree of precision in relation to the drafting of the instruments.

I am grateful to Mr Swinney for that answer, but I am not sure that it entirely addressed the question that I asked, which was more about which of the two purposes was the primary intention behind the new initiative that has been introduced. However, constituents have raised a number of other issues with me, so perhaps I could raise a couple of them.

It is clear that there are concerns about the civil liberties angle of introducing vaccine passports. The Scottish Government has said, entirely reasonably, that those who have medical conditions that mean that they cannot be vaccinated will be exempt from the requirement. Does the Government intend to exempt those who might have objections to taking passports—for example, because they might be a member of a religious group that believes that the vaccination is wrong? Will individuals in that category also be treated as exempt?

Thank you for that answer. I suppose that the question is then, “When is dancing not dancing?” Perhaps that question is for Michael Gove, rather than for the Deputy First Minister. However, if there is an exemption for people who are exercising, does that apply to people who are walking, for example? What constitutes exercise?