VACCINE passports will expire at the end of February 2022, MSPs have been told.
Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery, John Swinney MSP, said that if the government wants to extend the certification scheme past February 28 next year it would have to be decided by parliament.
Swinney added that they won't be used for a “moment longer than is needed” and that the scheme will be reviewed every three weeks by Holyrood.
It came as MSPs debated vaccine passports for two hours on Thursday afternoon, with the Scottish Tories, Scottish Labour and Scottish LibDems stating they would not vote for the scheme.
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Ultimately, the motion passed with 68 votes for yes and 55 votes for no.
Swinney, opening the debate, said that with the positive covid daily figures growing, parliament needs “to try all that we can to protect the return to greater normality that we have experienced in recent weeks”.
The Deputy First Minister, who moved the motion in his name, said that to avoid going back to restrictions “proportionate and targetted” action has to be taken.
He explained: “If the choice is between sectors and settings being closed and a limited certification scheme being used to keep them open, the government believes it is right to make a choice in favour of a limited certification scheme.”
One of the main aims of the scheme, Swinney told MSPs, was to encourage those who are eligible but have not yet been vaccinated to take up the jab.
Douglas Ross said the Scottish Tories would not support the scheme in Scotland
It comes as the Scottish Government published a paper setting out further details of the scheme, which will come into force on October 1.
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, who lodged an amendment against the introduction of the scheme, spent a large proportion of his speech discussing the definition of a nightclub.
Ross said: “We will not support this SNP-Green coalition to bring in these plans, the government has made no effort to bring the opposition parties in this chamber or the public on board with these proposals. No effort to inform, no effort to persuade, no effort to consult.”
Jackie Baillie, moving an amendment for Scottish Labour calling for the focus to be on improving the accessibility of vaccination over the certification scheme, accused the government of “reaching for anything just to be seen to take action”.
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She said: “It is the case that you could be vaccinated, you could have a vaccination certificate but you can still be carrying covid and you will be allowed into the nightclub to infect everyone else. It is nonsensical and the government is in danger of giving people a false sense of confidence. They are not invincible simply because they have a certificate.”
Alex Cole-Hamilton, for the LibDems, said that the party is “fundamentally opposed on the grounds of both ideology and practicality”.
He said: “Let me be clear, vaccines without question are our best route out of the pandemic, but vaccine passports are not.
“Liberals are fundamentally opposed to vaccine passports on ethical grounds as well, and that is because and I can’t believe I have to say this, you should never have to provide any aspect of your medical history to a bouncer to get into a nightclub.”
Gillian Mackay (pictured), for the Scottish Greens, said that she hoped the certification scheme would help the low uptake levels of vaccination for those in the under 40 category.
Stating that the party would support the scheme, Mackay said that she understands the “moral and ethical concerns” of other MSPs, but noted that when her party opposed the certification scheme it was when furlough was still in place and many age groups had not yet been offered a jab.
She said: “If we were looking at the health impacts of covid then reimposing wider restrictions would probably be the obvious initial step, however with furlough ending shortly this is no longer a choice we have.
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“The consequence of shutting these industries without furlough would lead to job losses and businesses closing on a scale far beyond what we’ve already seen.
“The discussions we’re having today would be an entirely different one if we had the ability to extend furlough and provide the financial support needed to reintroduce restrictions. We are very much in the realm of the least worst option.”
At decision time, MSPs voted in favour of passing the motion moved by Swinney, with 68 votes for yes and 55 for no.
All three amendments by opposition parties did not pass. Ross and Baillie's amendments were both voted down with 55 votes for yes and 68 for no.
Cole-Hamilton's amendment received 33 votes for yes, 68 for no and 22 abstentions.
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