Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Quarantine-free Travel

Tuesday 13 July 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Margaret Ferrier inquired about discussions with European and US counterparts regarding mutual quarantine-free travel for vaccinated individuals and international vaccine pass recognition.
  • The UK is working with international partners to ensure safe international travel while managing public health risks.
  • The UK supports a global consistent minimum technical standard for covid status notification.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Margaret Ferrier SNP
NHS Brexit Foreign Affairs
Context

Discussions on mutual quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated individuals and international covid-19 vaccine pass recognition between the UK, EU, and US.

Question

What discussions he has had with his (a) European and (b) US counterparts on progressing (i) mutual quarantine-free travel for people who are fully vaccinated against covid-19 and (ii) international covid-19 vaccine pass recognition.

Answer from Nadhim Zahawi

We are working with the United States authorities, with the EU and with other international partners to ensure a safe return to international travel while managing public health risks. We support a global consistent minimum technical standard for covid status notification. The NHS app with the NHS covid pass is now accepted in 33 countries around the world.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific details of discussions and progress on mutual quarantine-free travel and vaccine pass recognition are not provided, only a general statement of support and current status.

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Q2 Margaret Ferrier SNP
Brexit Foreign Affairs
Context

The Association of British Travel Agents claims that the lack of recognition of vaccination status between the UK and the EU is putting the UK at a competitive disadvantage compared to steps taken by the EU and US.

Question

The continued lack of recognition of vaccination status between the UK and the EU is putting the UK at a competitive disadvantage, according to the Association of British Travel Agents, especially when compared with the steps taken by the EU and the US. Both the US and the EU now have standardised digital ways to prove vaccination status, so will the Minister clarify why there is an ongoing delay in resolving this matter?

Answer from Nadhim Zahawi

The European Medicines Agency and our regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, work incredibly closely together, and the EMA has authorised the vaccines that are approved by the MHRA. All vaccines that are authorised and deployed in the UK have been subjected to rigorous checks, including individual batch testing and site inspection. Our two regulators work incredibly closely together and I am confident that we will continue to do so and ensure that any issues are resolved as quickly as possible, working with the manufacturers as well.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Details on why there is an ongoing delay in resolving vaccine pass recognition between UK and EU were not provided.

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