Closed petition Recall Parliament to debate proposals for Domestic Vaccine Passports
The House of Commons should be recalled during the summer recess to debate and vote on the very important issue of Domestic Vaccine Passports and the Government's plans to require these passports for accessing some settings at the end of September.
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We believe it would be totally unfair and create a divisive and problematic approach to our society, that will create angst, segregation, depression, and many more psychological issues to a public that are already struggling with the issues of the last 18 months
Has our Government not learnt anything from the "apartheid" political system in South Africa and the civil rights movement in the USA? That divided the nation into two classes of citizen, this led to civil disorder and suffering.
This petition is closed All petitions run for 6 months
Related activity
MPs question Government on plans for covid vaccine passports
On Wednesday 8 September, MPs questioned the Government about plans for covid vaccine passports.
You can watch the questions and the Government's response on Parliament TV: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/9f86ff53-859d-465c-8295-498d53d52bdc?in=12:37:48
You can read the questions and the Government's response on the Hansard website: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-09-08/debates/6C6C1F6B-C2B2-4AF5-BC4B-643F8DEEF204/CovidVaccinePassports
The Minister for Covid Vaccine Deployment, Nadhim Zahawi MP, restated the Prime Minister's announcement of 19 July that by the end of September—when all over 18s will have had the chance to be double jabbed—the Government were planning to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather. He said that the Government would confirm more details for its plans on covid vaccine passports in due course.
Why was the Government questioned about its plans for covid vaccine passports?
If an urgent or important matter arises which an MP believes requires an immediate answer from a government minister, they may apply to ask an urgent question.
Alistair Carmichael MP applied to ask the Government about plans for international travel, and this request was granted by the Speaker.
Find out more about Urgent Questions here:
https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/urgent-questions/
Government responds to report on Covid-status certification
The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee has published the Government's response to its report on plans to introduce domestic Covid-status certification, also known as Covid passports.
Read the Government's response (HTML): https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmpubadm/670/67002.htm
Read the Government's response (PDF): https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/7176/documents/75707/default/
The Government's response states that the Government believes that certification would provide a public health benefit, and that it will set out more detail about the settings where certification will be required in due course.
Responding to the Government's response, the Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, William Wragg MP, said:
“With recent analysis suggesting that vaccinated people carry as much of the virus as the unvaccinated into any setting, the disappointing lack of any scientific basis for the Government’s decision to go ahead could reasonably lead people to conclude that there is in fact no such basis. If the real goal is to drive vaccine uptake, then it is a deeply cynical approach that will be counterproductive.”
Read the Committee's press release about the Government's response: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/327/public-administration-and-constitutional-affairs-committee/news/157355/covid-passport-policy-lacks-scientific-evidence-base/
What did the Committee's report on Covid-status certification say?
The Committee's report said the Government had so far failed to make the scientific case in favour of the system, and raised concerns that such a system could “disproportionately discriminate” against people on the basis of their race, religion, age or socio-economic background. They concluded plans for Covid passports were "unnecessary" and "unjustified".
Read the report (HTML):
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmpubadm/42/4202.htm
Read the report (PDF):
https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/6264/documents/69158/default/
Read the Committee's press release:
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/327/public-administration-and-constitutional-affairs-committee/news/155788/no-justification-for-covid-passports-say-committee/
What is the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee?
The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee is a cross-party group of MPs which examines constitutional issues, and the quality and standards of administration provided by Civil Service departments. It's a cross-party committee and is independent of the Government.
Find out more on their website:
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/327/public-administration-and-constitutional-affairs-committee/
You can get updates on their work by following the Committee on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CommonsPACAC
This is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c