Coronavirus (COVID-19) domestic vaccine certification: children's rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Executive summary

The Scottish Government has introduced The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2021 in order to reduce the risk of transmission of Coronavirus; reduce the risk of serious illness and death thereby alleviating current and future pressure on the National Health Service; allow higher risk settings to continue to operate as an alternative to closure or more restrictive measures; and increase vaccine uptake

The scheme will come into force on 1 October 2021 (from 5AM). The requirement to ensure there is a reasonable system in operation for checking Certification will become enforceable on 18 October in the following settings:

• late night premises with music, which serve alcohol after midnight and has a designated place for customers to dance
• indoor events (unseated) planned for 500 or more people at any one time
• outdoor events (unseated) planned for 4,000 or more people at any one time
• any event planned for more than 10,000 people at any one time

This requirement applies to customers only, so it does not apply to staff, contractors, performers or volunteers involved in the delivery of the event or working in the settings in scope, as we do not want to compromise people's right to work (UNHR Article 23; UNCRC Article 6) or employment prospects. Emergency responders and regulators attending a relevant event or late night premises are also exempt from Certification.

Exemptions exist within the regulations for under-18s; people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons; people taking part or who have taken part in vaccine trials; the person responsible for the premises; workers and volunteers at the venue or event and emergency services responders and regulators carrying out their work.

This document builds upon previous work undertaken to ensure that children's rights and wellbeing are at the centre of our response to the pandemic, and upon previously published CRWIA's. It sets out the potential impact of Covid Vaccine Certification, both positive and negative, on children's rights and wellbeing, and the mitigations put in place to negate the wider harms.

This is a global pandemic and these are highly uncertain times, which means our decision making process is continuous and multi-faceted. We will continue to make every effort to ensure that children's rights and wellbeing are central to our response to the pandemic, and that CRWIAs are undertaken and published.