By Tony O’Riley-
Venue staff at Scotland refused entry to revellers without vaccine passports more than 550 times, leading to the abuse of some staff , the Scottish Hospitality Group said.
A venue representing night-time venues described thr unpopular vaccine passport scheme in Scotland as an unmitiagted disaster, according to a body representing night-time venues.
The venue said some venues decided to close early following the drammatic week, especially as most Scottish residents are sceptical of the covid passport scheme, which is gradually growing into an international practise .
Rules on entry to venues including clubs were approved by MSPs last month and have been legally enforceable for the past week.
The Scottish Hospitality Group has now warned that staff faced ‘intolerable levels of abuse’ at the weekend when revellers were refused entry if they did not show proof of vaccination, and is now calling on the Scottish Government to scrap the scheme.
The Scottish government said the scheme was a “proportionate” health measure.
Ministers believe the bullish scheme will encourage more people to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and ensure late-night venues can remain open during a “potentially very difficult” winter.
“The Scottish Hospitality Group has been warning the government for weeks that their vaccine passports scheme is not ready – but the government’s attitude has been to tell us to ‘get on with it’ whilst offering no safety net of support for businesses or our hard working staff,” spokesperson Stephen Montgomery said:
“The experience of this weekend shows that the result has been intolerable levels of abuse of our staff, and the creation of an atmosphere that will totally undermine anyone’s enjoyment of our night-time venues.”.
The Scottish Conservatives said the scheme was “unworkable and unreasonable” with no financial support for businesses or their staff.
The party’s Covid recovery spokesperson Murdo Fraser said: “What is most concerning is the levels of abuse hospitality workers have been subjected to, caused by a lack of public engagement, and a frustrating and unreliable app.”The Scottish government insisted it was continuing to engage with the sector to discuss implementation of the scheme.
A spokesperson said: “Covid-19 certification is a proportionate way of encouraging people to get vaccinated, and also of helping large events and night-time hospitality to keep operating during what will potentially be a very difficult winter.
“This means many businesses will not have to close and can continue to trade whilst making necessary adjustments to ensure their premises are as safe as possible for staff and customers.”