Holiday boost as Grant Shapps says NHS app will be used for travel passport

(Sky News)

The Transport Secretary boosted hope for foreign holidays within weeks as he revealed the NHS app will be used for travel passports.

Grant Shapps said he would set out at the beginning of May what category countries would fall into.

Countries will be put on a traffic light “watch list” system in which they will be graded from green to red in term of coronavirus risk.

The Secretary of State also said the domestic covid figures “look good” to enable foreign holidays to start again next month.

He told Sky News: “I can confirm we are working on an NHS application. Actually, it will be the NHS app that is used for people when they book appointments for the NHS and so on. To be able to show that you’ve had a vaccine or that you had testing.

“I’m working internationally with partners across the world to make sure that system can be internationally recognised, as that’s the way forward.

“I’m chairing a meeting of the G7 secretaries of state for transport, my equivalents from America and Canada and all the G7 countries, next week on exactly this subject.”

Mr Shapps said the data “continue to look good” domestically to allow limited international travel but stressed it would be May 17 at the “earliest”.

He added: “We won’t have international travel before that.”

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