Scotland's Covid vaccine passport scheme goes live

All four UK countries are discussing a joint digital system of vaccine certification

Scotland's vaccine passport scheme went live on Friday, less than 12 hours after the official app was launched.

People now need proof they have had two doses of vaccine in order to enter nightclubs and many other large events.

Problems were reported with the NHS Scotland Covid Status app after it was made available to download on Apple and Android devices at 17:30 on Thursday.

The Scottish government said the issues may have been down to the "extremely high initial traffic".

A spokesman added: "We advise people whose data is not found to try again a couple of hours later."

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Opposition politicians earlier criticised the delay in allowing the public to access a digital QR code version of their Covid certification status.

In another development, the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) Scotland lost a legal bid to delay the rollout.

Earlier this week, the Scottish government announced that the rules would not actually be enforced until 18 October, to give venues time to test their systems.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney Deputy said vaccine certifcates had a role to play as part of a wider package of measures, particularly for "high risk settings".

He continued: "This is a very limited scheme and we hope this will allow businesses to remain open and prevent any further restrictions as we head into autumn and winter.

"I would encourage people to to download the NHS Scotland Covid Status App and help our drive to keep the virus under control."

Elsewhere in the UK, Wales plans to introduce its own Covid passport rules later this month but England has scrapped similar plans.

Northern Ireland has yet to announce a formal vaccination passport scheme.

The Scottish launch comes as latest figures show 3,837,689 people have received two doses while 4,189,701 have had a single jab.

'Simply pathetic'

The vaccine certification scheme will require venues to put in place a "reasonable system" to check the status of customers over the age of 18, with certain exemptions on medical grounds.

Venues affected include nightclubs, unseated indoor events with more than 500 people, unseated outdoor events with more than 4,000 people, and any event with more than 10,000 people in attendance.

The plans were approved by MSPs despite all three opposition parties voting against them, but the NTIA Scotland lodged a legal challenge, pushing for a delay.

Before the app was launched on Thursday evening, Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie described the hold-up as "simply pathetic".

She added: "This is not only farcical, but is symbolic of the SNP's incompetent response to the demands of the pandemic.

"The scheme is set to come into force in mere hours, affecting scores of businesses and millions of Scots."

At Holyrood, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said the court challenge showed that "everything has been left to the last minute", and that the government "must accept that this is not ready".

He added: "Businesses have never had a tougher time than right now, but they are getting guidance on vaccine passports at the very last minute, and the evidence case for them - if it can be called that - appeared before a Scottish Parliament committee for the first time this morning.

"There are so many flaws littered through this scheme and proper consideration hasn't taken place."

The NTIA Scotland said it was "deeply disappointed" that the scheme would proceed as planned.

A spokeswoman added: "We will continue to challenge Scottish government on this issue as we start to address the practical and physical challenges presented by the implementation of Covid passports across Scotland."

It also called on ministers to "substantially increase" efforts to communicate the impact of the changes.

Trade body UK Hospitality has also said the initiative should have been the focus of a dedicated Scottish government public information campaign.

But in response, the deputy first minister said it had been the focus of huge media attention and ministers had responded to requests from businesses for a "slower launch".

'Targeted and proportionate'

The NITA Scotland legal challenge argued the system was "discriminatory" and "disproportionate".

But announcing his decision on Thursday morning, Lord Burns ruled it was "an attempt to address the legitimate issues identified in a balanced way", and was within the margin of what the government could decide was a reasonable response to the pandemic.

The judge said the system was subject to scrutiny at parliament and would be frequently reviewed by ministers, with a specific duty in law to revoke regulations if they were no longer necessary from a public health standpoint.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the court judgement was "clear and emphatic".

She said: "This is a targeted and proportionate way to try and reduce the harm the virus will do over the winter months, to keep our economy open and fully functioning.

"We will continue to engage with businesses not just in the run-up to the enforcement of this on 18 October, we will do that afterwards as well so we are listening and understanding and working collectively to keep the country as safe as possible."

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