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