THE Conservative Health Secretary is committed to hiring a £71,000-a-year official responsible for the NHS Covid pass, despite admitting the document is now obsolete.
The Health Secretary told MPs he can see “absolutely no prospect” of the pass “ever coming back into place”. But he insisted the vacancy needs filling despite facing calls in the House of Commons to scrap the job.
The requirement for people to show the NHS Covid pass to visit indoor and outdoor events and venues, such as cinemas and nightclubs, was scrapped across the UK earlier this year.
It has also been used as a way for people to show their vaccination status or test results when travelling abroad.
READ MORE: Sajid Javid accused of dodging taxes before entering politics
Conservative former minister Sir Desmond Swayne asked in the Commons: “Why is his departmental leadership advertising for a deputy director delivery for a Covid pass. What’s that about?”
Javid replied: “I believe the reason the department keeps that under review is although the pass has stopped and there’s absolutely no prospect I can see of it ever coming back into place, that it’s right when we wind this down and work on the digital resources that all things that are necessary are looked at appropriately.”
Conservative MP Peter Bone could be heard shouting: “Scrap it.”
The position for “deputy director, delivery lead Covid pass” has been advertised by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with applications due by June 15.
The job advertisement states: “On February 21 the Prime Minister announced the living with Covid strategy, which sets out to remove certification requirements in England, but that the NHS Covid pass would be required to access venues and events in the UK and for international travel purposes for the foreseeable future.
“Covid pass is an award-winning DHSC programme undertaking a complex transition whilst continuing to deliver a vital citizen service in a changing health landscape.
“We’re building capacity in a team which has delivered award-winning services to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
READ MORE: Tory Health Secretary denies 'Netflix NHS' means people will have to pay
The job description adds: “As deputy director, delivery lead you will use your exceptional stakeholder management to continue the work of Covid pass in this inclusive, award-winning manner.
“You will be a passionate advocate of future-proof technologies and will work with service management and policy colleagues to deliver the Covid pass programme, a key strategic priority for DHSC and Her Majesty’s Government (HMG). This is a high profile, complex programme which interacts with other departments, devolved administrations and public and private sector stakeholders.
“You will have oversight for the further development, iteration and implementation of the programme delivery roadmap and for supporting teams to deliver successfully against agreed milestones on time and to quality standards.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel