The Welsh Conservatives warned that the introduction of COVID passports in Wales would set a dangerous precedent, and it gives me no pleasure today to say that we were right.

It's just a few short weeks since the introduction of COVID passports here in Wales, and yet, in spite of no clear or credible evidence that they have an ability to stop the spread of coronavirus, we find ourselves today debating yet another proposal to extend their use beyond the large events and night-time economy, now to cinemas, theatres and concert halls, and this is in spite of the fact that there's no evidence to suggest that these venues are the hotbed of virus infection.

Llywydd, as you are well aware, the Welsh Conservatives have been opposed to the introduction of vaccine passports from the outset. The mandatory use of domestic vaccination passports has wide-ranging ethical, equality, privacy, legal and operational ramifications. We, like other Members of this Senedd, are absolutely committed to protecting lives and livelihoods. We understand that the final stages of unlocking society and the economy have to be done carefully. But, with the vaccination rate in Wales being so high and the link between cases and hospitalisations being severely weakened, we do not believe that the introduction of barriers that impact on people's freedoms and privacy is the right thing to do.

Vaccine passports are not a route out of restrictions, they are restrictions. They should not be expanded into other premises when they should never have been introduced or put on the table in the first place. Vaccine passports are coercive, ineffective and anti-business; they limit our freedoms but they do not limit the spread of COVID-19.

Now, we're often told by Labour Ministers that they are listening to the experts, so let's consider what the experts have been saying. The Welsh Government's technical advisory cell on coronavirus said that COVID passes will have a minimal impact on the spread of the virus. And Dr Frank Atherton, the Welsh Government's own chief medical officer, said just last week that the actual direct impact of COVID passes is probably quite small. And he went further than that, he actually said that the evidence is still building around COVID passes, and that the bigger impact was over messaging and using COVID passes alongside other restrictions such as face coverings. Now, if the Welsh Government's own chief medical officer is not convinced that they make a real difference, then how on earth can you expect Members of this Senedd today, along with the public and businesses the length and breadth of this country, to be convinced that they are? The idea of a COVID pass was outlined and implemented in Wales at very short notice, and these latest proposals are similar, with very little consideration of how it will actually impact those businesses and organisations that will be affected. The entertainment industry has already been ravaged by COVID-19 restrictions, and the extension of COVID passports to cinemas, theatres and concert halls will only punish them further. The chief executive officer of the UK Cinema Association has warned that this move could lead to the closure of many smaller venues, stating that, and I quote,

‘where similar schemes have been introduced in...European territories, we have seen admissions drop by as much as 50%.'

This is people’s jobs and livelihoods on the line.