U.K government shelves plans for mandatory vaccine passports

In yet another U-turn, the U.K government has announced it will be scrapping plans to enforce making vaccine passports mandatory for entry into all clubs and live music venues. The plan had initially been revealed in July, shortly after the re-opening of the country’s nightlife and live music sectors. It was confirmed to be going ahead last week by a spokesperson for prime minister Boris Johnson and vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi who revealed the plan would go into action from the end of September. 

Following last week’s announcement, the decision was instantly met with criticism from nightlife and music industry professionals. CEO of the The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), Michael Kill has been particularly vocal about the government’s handling of the nightlife sector over the course of the pandemic. Following this update, Kill “welcomes” the new decision and expresses hope that “businesses will now be able to plan for the future with some degree of certainty.”

While the plan has now officially been scrapped in England, Scotland has moved forward with enforcing a vaccination passport for entry into clubs, music venues and festivals while Wales is expected to reach a decision next week.