What are the UK plans for Covid passports?

Proving your Covid status is "likely to become a feature of our lives" while the disease remains a threat, the government has said.

At present, anyone who has had a Covid jab receives a vaccination card, and the details go on their medical records.

A "Covid status certification" scheme is now being examined as "a temporary measure".

It would record whether people had been vaccinated, recently tested negative or had natural immunity after being ill with Covid.

It is hoped this could help show that people are less likely to transmit Covid and make it easier to reduce social distancing and allow international travel.

The government plans to test how "Covid-status certification" could help crowds return to large events.

A club night, the FA Cup final and a mass participation run are among events which will be part of a study in April and May.

It will also look at how social distancing, ventilation and Covid tests when people arrive could be used.

The government says Covid passports could play a role in places where people are close together, including:

For stage two of lifting lockdown in England - including the reopening of non-essential shops and pub gardens on 12 April - there will definitely be no legal requirement for certification or a passport.

The same will apply to stage three - from 17 May at the earliest - when pubs and restaurants can seat people indoors.

The longer term picture is uncertain. The government's position is that it is legal for such businesses to ask for proof of Covid status before admitting people, as long as that does not breach equalities legislation.

What's less clear is whether the law could change to force businesses to ask for proof of status in the future.

But the prime minister has previously suggested pub-goers could be asked to provide a vaccine certificate, after all adults have been offered a first jab by the end of July.

The government says there are some settings where Covid passports will never be required, so everyone can use them.

These include essential shops and public services, and public transport.

It has also said there will be exemptions for some people "for whom vaccination is not advised and repeat testing is difficult".

Nevertheless, proposals for vaccine passports have been criticised as "dangerous, discriminatory and counterproductive" by dozens of MPs.

"If another country says you can't come in unless you have the jab, then we want Brits to be able to demonstrate that," Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.

Covid certification - including proof of a negative test - is already part of international travel, the government said. It expects this to continue and is looking at ways of making it possible to show such information digitally.

European officials have announced plans for an EU-wide "Green Digital Certificate". This would allow anyone vaccinated against Covid, or who has tested negative, or recently recovered from the virus, to travel within the region.

Officials hope the certificate will be in place before the summer tourist season.

Individual countries have also announced plans, including:

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has also confirmed the government is considering whether care workers in England should have to be vaccinated.

Fewer care home staff have had vaccines than any other priority group. As at 14 March, about 76% of eligible care home staff in England have had the vaccine, compared with 97% of healthcare staff.

The prime minister told MPs it seemed "wholly responsible" for care companies to require their workers to be vaccinated.

However, no final decision has been taken.

Other UK nations make their own decisions on health, and the Welsh government has said it has no plans to make vaccines compulsory.

There have also been questions over whether staff working in other areas could be required to get vaccinated.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said making new staff get vaccinated could, in theory, be possible if it was written into their contracts.

However, he said it was unlikely employers could make existing workers have vaccines under their current contracts, unless the law was changed.

In the absence of such a change, demanding that current staff be vaccinated would be unlawful in the "majority of circumstances", according to employment lawyer Ella Bond, from Harper James solicitors.

Businesses are not allowed to discriminate against people for reasons including disability, pregnancy and religious belief.

Pregnant women are not generally recommended to have the vaccine unless they are at particular risk. It is also not suitable for people with some health conditions, including certain allergies and immune system problems.

Sarah Gilzean, a discrimination lawyer at Morton Fraser, agrees that such valid reasons for not having the jab could make it hard for employers to insist on vaccination.

"In settings where there are alternatives like mass testing that are less intrusive, it's going to be difficult for employers to justify that requirement," she says.