Britain’s government has confirmed that it plans to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and large-scale gatherings from next month, AP reports.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said that officials are looking to begin the certification measures from the end of September when the whole over-18 population will have been offered two Covid-19 vaccine doses.

Zahawi told Sky News that this was the “right thing to do” to ensure the economy remains open. Lawmakers and businesses, however, have criticised the measure as divisive and say they could embroil nightclubs in discrimination cases.

“The best thing to do is to work with the industry to make sure that they can open safely and sustainably in the long term, and the best way to do that is to check vaccine status,” he said.