TRACY-ANN CARMICHAEL

Extending the covid passport scheme would be a hammer blow to the hospitality sector, a Paisley music venue boss has warned.

Tommy McGrory, who owns The Bungalow, in Shuttle Street, branded proposals to extend the vaccine requirement, currently in place for nightclubs and large events, as “worrying”.

He fears any bid to roll out passport entry to other licensed premises, including theatres, cinemas and some hospitality venues, will make it “very difficult to operate” for many.

The Scottish Government has postponed a decision on anticipated plans for revellers to show they are up-to-date with covid jabs before they can enter a venue, until Tuesday.

Nicola Sturgeon is expected to extend the scheme, claiming the move is needed to curb rising coronavirus cases ahead of a worrying winter season.

It is expected that the proof of vaccination requirement will be rolled out from December 6 - in time for the busy festive season.

But the move has sparked concerns among the hard-hit entertainment and hospitality sectors, already suffering after the covid shutdown.

Tommy, who runs The Bungalow live music venue, said: “It will be very, very difficult to operate under this.

“At the moment, people are turning up with their phones, they are trying to look on their phones for their ticket and for the QR code for Track and Trace and if they are also going back into their phone for the covid passport, it will take time.

“There will be queues along the road. It’s off-putting for a lot of people.”

He added: “At a place as small as ours, our capacity is 300 at the most, we don’t need the vaccine passport at the moment, but there is a perception about it anyway. Ticket sales are not the same as they used to be, business is not the same as it used to be.”

He fears the situation is about to worsen, adding: “If it is absolutely mandatory to do the vaccine passport then that’s another thing people need to do.

“People have already said to me, ‘I’m not bothering, I’m just going to sit in the house’.

“You’ve got all these barriers in front of people and that’s another one, so they just don’t bother going out.

“It’s another barrier to people coming out and it’s another thing that makes it very difficult to operate and makes it not very inviting for people to come out.

“Covid has already been bad enough.”

His sentiments were echoed by business leaders at Paisley First, who also harbour concerns over the impact on struggling sectors.

Chair Colette Cardosi, told the Express: “We appreciate that, given public health concerns right now, the Scottish Government is looking for alternative measures to avoid further Covid-19 restrictions, however, we would ask that the government proceeds with caution when it comes to extending vaccine passports.

“Many business are still struggling to recover from the pandemic and this is a crucial time of year for those who missed out on Christmas trade last year.”

She added: “An extension of vaccine certification may well burden our small businesses with the need for extra staff and additional costs, so there will need to be extra support for businesses if the scheme is extended across more settings.

“Our Paisley town centre businesses have worked extremely hard during the last 20 months to keep staff and customers safe and visitors can be assured that this remains a priority moving forward.”

Tommy McGrory