Covid passes: Opposition parties demand vote in Senedd

Covid passes should be approved by the Senedd before they become compulsory, opposition parties have said.

From 11 October people attending big events and nightclubs must show they are fully vaccinated or have tested negative in the previous 48 hours.

The Welsh government has powers to change the law, but the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru say Members of the Senedd (MSs) should get a vote first.

Ministers said the timetable for Covid pass regulations was "being finalised".

Throughout the pandemic, restrictions have been introduced and lifted before MSs debate and vote on them.

It can take weeks for decisions to reach the floor of the Welsh Parliament.

On Tuesday, for example, MSs will vote on the regulations that put Wales into alert level zero on 7 August.

Meanwhile, a report by Welsh government advisers says certificates for people who have been double-jabbed would have to be accompanied by "other measures to control transmission as part of a risk-based approach".

"Even with careful planning and application there may not be a net benefit to the introduction of immunity certification," according to the report by the Technical Advisory Cell.

Vaccine passports will be introduced in Scotland next month after the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of them.

Conservative shadow health minister Russell George said the Welsh government should make sure there is "a vote in the Senedd prior to any proposed introduction and that the full details are given to members".

Plaid Cymru said it had "consistently argued that coronavirus regulations should be agreed in the Senedd before coming into force".

During First Minister's Questions, Mark Drakeford said he could "very easily" define what a nightclub would be defined as under the Covid pass regulations, when challenged to do do by the Conservative leader in the Senedd.

Mr Drakeford said the "problem" was "already solved back earlier in the summer".

"Pubs were open, nightclubs were closed.

"So there was a legal definition available and operating in Wales, because different regulations applied to both sectors."

Mr Davies told the first minister said he had heard from "many owners" in Cardiff who were "unsure whether they'd be captured by these rules".

The Covid pass will be needed for clubs, indoor no-seating events with more than 500 people and outdoor no-seating events with more than 4,000 people.

It will also be required for any event with more than 10,000 people.

Passes will be available to anyone over the age of 16, though will only be compulsory for those aged over 18 to enter certain events.