Manchester hospitality sector bosses react to latest Government views on vaccine passports

Bosses in the Manchester hospitality sector have given their views on the latest developments around plans for vaccine passports.

There has been considerable relief since health secretary Sajid Javid said the controversial idea for having to show proof of vaccination to enter venues such as nightclubs is not going to be implemented.

However, prime minister Boris Johnson seemed to suggest on Monday that the idea was not completely off the table.

Hospitality bosses have expressed significant concerns about vaccine passports and there is now some alarm in the city about the somewhat shifting messaging coming out of Westminster.

What are vaccine passports and are they going ahead?

The Government had been considering plans to make revellers going to clubs and other night-time venues show proof they had received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine in order to gain entry.

Following significant criticism of the idea from the night-time economy and MPs it was announced at the weekend that the idea would not be going ahead.

However, it has now been suggested that some sort of vaccine passport scheme could be kept in reserve as a possible option for the future.

What have Manchester hospitality chiefs said?

Sacha Lord, night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, expressed his relief at the scrapping of vaccine passports on the weekend thousands of festival-goers descended on the city for the Parklife event.

He said: “I’m pleased to see that the Government has listened to the events and nightlife industry and dropped the plans for vaccine passports.

“The plans were untenable and illogical and there were multiple factors which would have been discriminatory and legally questionable.

”As a sector, we can now move forward, without hesitation or vague regulations.

”We have welcomed over 80,000 visitors to this weekend’s Parklife Festival.

“Having been forced to cancel the festival last year due to Covid, it is a momentous weekend and a hugely positive step as we try to rebuild the events industry in the UK.”

What are they saying now?

The possibility of vaccine passports returning as a potential policy in future has concerned Shaun Hinds, the CEO at Manchester Central.

Mr Hinds said he was worried about the lack of certainty and what appeared to be regular shifts in emphasis and thinking on the issue in Downing Street.

He said ministers need to listen to and work with the industry as large events need planning well in advance and the sector would struggle with frequent changes in messaging.

Mr Hinds said: “Over the past 48 hours, we have heard multiple statements regarding the introduction of ‘vaccine passports’ for the events industry.

“While there are many questions over the pros and cons of such measures, my current concern lies with the ever-changing landscape.

“Businesses, especially those in the events industry, cannot run efficiently with ongoing speculation and rapidly changing rules.

“This constantly shifting landscape is difficult to work with and unhelpful to our situation when we are planning events months in advance.

“We have hosted a number of large events at Manchester Central since our reopening in July, all of which have been successful and adhered to regulations in place at the time.

“Keeping visitors safe is our first priority, but we need a clear line of sight for the months to come to allow our clients to adopt and implement control measures into their event programmes effectively.

“We are more than happy to work with and offer our industry knowledge to the Government so that we are not left open to late rule changes that fundamentally impact how we deliver an event.”

Last week Manchester World spoke to residents on Manchester’s streets about the idea and heard a variety of opinions on the subject.