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Okay. Thank you, cabinet secretary.

I will follow on from the convener’s questions and her comments about evidence. Perhaps Professor Montgomery could answer first.

To put the debate into context, there are people who are ideologically opposed to vaccination passports in all circumstances. Most people are not in that category. The replies that we have heard today show that there is an issue of balance. There are human rights considerations to the introduction of vaccination certification, but human rights must be balanced against the public health objectives of any such scheme.

You have all talked to a degree about evidence. My question is to Professor Montgomery in the first instance. Is the evidence base solid and has the Scottish Government made a compelling case for the introduction of vaccination passports in the short timescale proposed? Does that evidence outweigh people’s human rights concerns at this point?

I want to ask about polymerase chain reaction tests for international travellers.

I welcome the regulations that open up private sector test providers for travellers, because a number of constituents have raised complaints with me about the cost of doing the PCR test through the one previously designated provider. However, there is an outstanding issue of which you will be aware. The UK Government has announced its intention to remove the requirement for international travellers who have been double jabbed to have a PCR test when travelling. On Tuesday, the First Minister indicated that the Scottish Government was considering what steps it would take in that respect.

The travel industry has been vocal on that matter, as I am sure you are aware. It is concerned that Scottish residents who are looking to book last-minute travel for the October break will now look to fly from an English airport because they will then avoid the requirement for a PCR test, and that that will be to the detriment of the Scottish travel industry and Scottish airports. Every day that goes by potentially costs the Scottish travel industry because people are making those bookings right now. When will we get a decision from the Scottish Government on that issue?

Thank you for that response. It occurs to me that whatever system is put in place will require significant additional resource from clubs, for example to provide additional stewarding. That in itself will not be easy, and the requirement to recruit additional stewards at short notice at a time of significant labour market issues might well present a significant challenge. Have there been any discussions about how stewards might be found and trained? Are you aware of any assessment that has been done of the additional cost to clubs, should these measures be required?

I have a question for Catriona McMillan. It is a follow-up to John Mason’s question about ethical objections to vaccination passports.

I have had correspondence from one constituent who has a religious objection to vaccination. Some religious groups are in that position. Do you have any views on the human rights aspects of vaccination passports in that context, given that religious belief is a protected characteristic?

I have been contacted by individuals living in England and Northern Ireland who have season tickets for Scottish clubs and who hope to travel to Scotland in two weeks’ time to attend a football match. However, as things stand, I understand that there is no technology that allows those who have certification from outside Scotland to be permitted to access Scottish events. Do you have any clarity about that issue, or do you have any sense of how that will be resolved?

That is very helpful.

I have one more question. It is on the slightly different issue of vaccination certification, and it came from a constituent who emailed me this week. He said that he downloaded his record of vaccination and was able to change every element on the certificate. In fact, he sent me a copy of his download, in which he had changed all the information. He was even able to remove large sections of the QR code. Is that an issue? How robust is the security around this? Although I hope that only a small minority of the population would ever seek to amend their vaccination certificate, how robust are the mechanisms to make sure that it does not become a widespread problem?

Thank you for that. Let me press you on that point. Individuals have contacted me to say that they have been on the Scottish Government website, where the information says, “Work is being done to resolve this issue,” but they have told me that there is no signposting to the exact steps that they need to take to resolve the issue. Can you provide some clarity?

Thank you—that is helpful.

Thank you, convener, and good morning, witnesses.

In his opening remarks, Neil Doncaster said that we are looking at a very short timescale for this; indeed, I think that the first weekend that it will apply will be that of Saturday 2 October, which in effect gives us two weeks. How realistic is it for clubs to bring these measures in, given that, at the moment, we seem to have very little clarity as to what exactly will be required of them?