HOSPITALITY businesses will have a two week 'grace period' to ease into the vaccine certification scheme, the First Minister has announced.
Nicola Sturgeon told MPs during her weekly coronavirus update that when the scheme comes into place, enforcement action will be suspended until October 18.
Sturgeon said the two weeks would act as a "grace period" for businesses hit by the certification scheme to ease out any kinks.
The NHS Covid Status App is due to go live on Thursday 30 September, with the scheme due to come into force on 5am on Friday 1 October.
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Sturgeon told the chamber: "I understand that many businesses have concerns about certification – however, I'm grateful to those that have nevertheless engaged in these discussions constructively.
"Indeed, many other countries are already demonstrating the value of Covid certification.
"It is for these reasons that Cabinet decided this morning to proceed with the laying of the regulations that will bring such a scheme into operation.
"However, we are also determined to listen and, as far as possible, respond to the reasonable concerns of business, so that the introduction and practical implementation of the scheme is as smooth as possible.
"I can confirm therefore that Cabinet this morning agreed a change to our original plans for the scheme’s commencement.
"The new, staged approach we are proposing is designed to help businesses adapt to the requirement that the scheme will place upon them, and give them a period in which they can operationalise and test their arrangements in practice.
"I can therefore confirm that after the legal obligation comes into force at 5am on Friday, we intend to allow a further period of slightly more than two weeks - until 18 October - before any business could face enforcement action for non-compliance.
"This period - effectively a grace period - will allow businesses to test, adapt and build confidence in the practical arrangements they will need to put in place to be compliant with the scheme."
The First Minister explained that the Scottish government are prusuing the scheme to "help us mitigate the risk the virus poses to us over the winter".
She continued: "However, the pragmatic compromise that I have just outlined in relation to a staged introduction of the scheme demonstrates, I hope, that we're listening to business about the practical challenges they face - and that we are determined to work with them to overcome these."
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The scheme applies to; late night venues open after midnight with alcohol, music and dancing, live indoor unseated events of more than 500 people, live outdoor unseated events of more than 4,000 people, and any event of more than 10,000 people.
The First Minister also announced changes to the rules on international travel.
From October 4, the requirement for pre-depature tests for those travelling into Scotland will be removed, and those who are double vaccinated or under 18 will no longer have to show a pre-departure result unless they are travelling from a country on the red list.
The First Minister gave the update to MSPs in Holyrood on Tuesday
Sturgeon said the move was to bring policy in line with England, but that details were still being finalised.
She said: "As I indicated last week, we are making these changes to the travel testing rules with some reluctance. We do have a concern that the removal of testing requirements could hamper our efforts to detect new variants."
And, the First Minister announced a £25 million fund for small and medium sized businesses to improve their ventilation to combat Covid-19.
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