CAMRA says dropping vaccine passports for pubs ‘right call for consumers and licensees alike’

Responding to the news that the Government has shelved plans to bring in ‘vaccine passports’ for pubs and hospitality businesses in England, Nik Antona, CAMRA Chairman said:

“This was the right call to make – a vaccine passport scheme would have been another nightmare set of rules for licensees to enforce and potentially exclusionary to some consumers.

“The social and wellbeing benefits of pub going should be available to everyone, and the Government still has not provided any evidence that hospitality businesses have been a major vector for virus transmissions – so we saw no reason why the sector should be singled out for more unfair treatment.

“Licensees will be breathing a sigh of relief today – especially as many are still getting to grips with new rules on registering all customers in groups for Test and Trace, and planning for indoor reopening in May.

“The Government must now stick to its reopening roadmap, and double down on efforts to encourage to people socialise safely in pubs and social clubs by introducing a new, lower, rate of duty for draught beer, and extending the business rates holiday.”