Guilt Free Railing 13

[WouldBeGood]

Unlucky for some.. maybe lucky for us?

I'm railing about holiday regret and why on earth I listened to NS and JL for so long about shouldn't be going on holidays!

We are now back and had a amazing time we were so much safer than if we were in Scotland as numbers are way lower and you spend the majority of the time outside from eating to visitor attractions and the pool! I'm so glad we went but gutted we didn't get away in the summer as well! It's so much cheaper than a cold cottage in Scotland and actually the paperwork is fine once you go to the right areas and not be daunted by it (the Facebook page is a huge help)

My understanding is that the NHS App used in England has been set up by UK based companies, including a London company called iProov for their ID recognition which can't guarantee how long they've retained the data for - which is worrying. But the Scottish Covid Status App was contacted to a Danish company called Netcompany which is equally as worrying as it means our health data is potentially being held outside the country? I can't find much about it. Either way I have no intention of downloading it. Scotland secured contract for a vaccine passport app back in May so they had plenty of time to either join with the UK App or sort out details with Netcompany but obviously it still got rushed last minute.

As for the face mask/covid rules here it's seriously depressing. I'm mostly WFH still but on the occasional times I get the train to work I'm bombarded with condescending announcements /posters on how we must 'continue to wear masks, socially distance, wash hands and be safe' - it feels rather dystopia. Meanwhile south of the border they trust the public to make their own choices.

I was leaning towards not getting the app anyway as I'm too old to go clubbing, I'm not interested in football and I really don't want this to become an established 'thing' that everyone has and is a part of everyday life. I want it to die a death as quickly as possible. The fact it doesn't seem to work and questions over data security just seal the deal really.

"Scotland secured contract for a vaccine passport app back in May" - Sorry meant to be June not May.

@OnceUponAWhine

Anyone could’ve shared the app. Although it’s curious that no scottish firm was deemed capable of running the project, which is worrying enough for Scotland’s creative and technology industry. I’m actually curious to know the tendering process for the app. Who signed off the successful bid?

For comparison, it really is as simple as, say a project which aimed to put a saltire graphic on your U.K. driving licence…for those that would wish that…and then not letting DVLA lead the project🤷‍♀️

I'd be interested in the tender process too.

I work with a Scottish app dev company which has made a number of apps for PHE. They'd have been more than capable of this.

I had a dream last night that NS and the crew had decided that we were all going to start driving on the right in Scotland. Implemented with no warning and obviously caused chaos at the border. This was to align ourselves with Europe and once again to be different. I woke up and had to check out the window just in case it was true...

Contract details for anyone interested:

www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUL422702

I feel the same @Y0uCann0tBeSer10us
But we have family in another European country and want to travel there and go out and about with them.
Are we going to need the app for proof of vaccine to get into other countries or access places once there?

[quote Notamultitasker]Contract details for anyone interested:

www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUL422702[/quote]
Interesting that the contract was to be awarded 80% on quality and 20% on price. Given that the quality was pish and the cost was high, it would be good to see what the actual bids were.

Part of a job I had a lifetime ago was opening and recording sealed tenders for work, in those days they arrived in a brown envelope with the contract number being bid for written on the outside and we collected them until the due date and time and opened and recorded the bids with witnesses and we all had to sign a declaration about the honesty of the system.

If the tender went out in May then the passports have been pre-planned for a long time and they've been lying to us by ommission.

@MaxNormal

If the tender went out in May then the passports have been pre-planned for a long time and they've been lying to us by ommission.

It’s obviously the other reason NS had to power ahead with the passport pish, in contrast to Boris, as they’d already awarded the contract, or at the very least in May, planned on having their own.

I’d find that funny if it wasn’t taxpayers money leaving Scotland to fund apps (for the build and journey, specifically) they didn’t need to procure exclusively for NHS Scotland.
Bunch of amateurs.

So, this afternoon (source, The Herald):

Paper vaccine passports will always be valid, John Swinney has said after admitting some people will probably never get the troubled app to work.

What an outrageous waste of money.

Ffs.

Swinney really is god’s gift to railing, isn’t he?

So they could have saved a fortune by having old fashioned bits of paper. In the first place.

Just me or is everything ScotGov do about have nothing integrated so they don't need to worry about separating it later.

I really don't trust vaccine passports not to be abused and used to keep tabs on people. Maybe I'm thinking too far ahead but it's in that same box as Named Person. Just a system ready to abuse.

Well I couldn't get past the biometric page of it! I technically need it for a gig next week but think I will stick with my downloaded QR code picture! I'm hardly tech inempt either so god knows how they expect people who aren't good with smart phones to use it!

Its a complete waste of money!

@sartorius are we going to need the app for proof of vaccine to get into other countries or access places once there?

You’d think they still allow your paper vaccine as proof given not everyone has a smart phone or can get the blooming app downloaded.
Eventually got mine downloaded lost count of how many tries it took.
We follow rugby seems there will be % off people checked and travel outwith UK despite what NS & JS say.
The app is more convenient to use will also have paper proof in my bag as back up.
Of course their is also the apps that went down yesterday FB Twitter WhatsApp etc could that happen to the NHS app?

@coquohvan yes I France already required a QR code and so did Norway.
Greece "require" the same for indoor restaurants - we have just come back not asked once for it!

But the paper one does have a QR code on it and we used it for flying - it was actually way quicker to do so as well!

Having a bit of a rail this morning about apparent new 'guidance' saying that children at nurseries/afterschool clubs have to be outside as much as possible to minimise COVID spread, even babies. That's great in the summer, but the weather is definitely turning and it won't be long before it's gets really cold and/or wet. It might minimise the spread of COVID (although not convinced on that) but putting little ones out in the cold will probably increase the likelihood of them coming down with other bugs! It just seems over the top to me, and definitely not putting the wellbeing of the children first.

The whole outside thing is nuts. And rightly or wrongly played a part in my decision to put LO into school at 4.5.

I felt he could do with more arty / crafty stuff, which was never going to happen with the as much time outdoors as possible guidance, so it definitely played a part in my decision in putting him into school.

@Scottishskifun @Coquohvan
Think a back up paper one good idea.
How did you get it?
Download from nhs inform and print it or get it sent out to you?

I did both of those @sartorius

[quote sartorius]**@Scottishskifun* @Coquohvan*
Think a back up paper one good idea.
How did you get it?
Download from nhs inform and print it or get it sent out to you?[/quote]
I downloaded it to my phone but also clicked the button underneath to get them to send it to me from the NHS vaccine page.
Having things in paper form with flying made it loads quicker as we just handed it all over or flashed it. We had printed boarding passes, PLF and vaccine certs.

@Y0uCann0tBeSer10us

Having a bit of a rail this morning about apparent new 'guidance' saying that children at nurseries/afterschool clubs have to be outside as much as possible to minimise COVID spread, even babies. That's great in the summer, but the weather is definitely turning and it won't be long before it's gets really cold and/or wet. It might minimise the spread of COVID (although not convinced on that) but putting little ones out in the cold will probably increase the likelihood of them coming down with other bugs! It just seems over the top to me, and definitely not putting the wellbeing of the children first.

This was the same guidelines as last year.

DS spent winter outside at nursery approx 75% of the day (to be fair he absolutely loved it!) but we bought second hand ski stuff, fleeced snow boots and many many pairs of gloves!

His nursery were brilliant with it though and installed heaters by the seated section.

SG did a bid process for nurseries for decent outdoor gear but it's dependent on the nursery to if they got it.

Thanks guys I'll download and order paper copy

I do remember them being outside a lot last year @Scottishskifun but they seemed to be doing a lot more inside activities around numbers/shapes/letters etc. at the minute so I guess I assumed that that rule was relaxed when the restrictions were allegedly relaxed in August. They still did outside activities but the balance seemed to have shifted a bit, and there was a lot more crafts and drawing too. LO is in her preschool year so has more of a 'curriculum' which I think is a much greater benefit to her than being chucked out in the cold! Older one is already complaining that they basically have to sit outside for a couple hours at after school.