The cold reality facing Sajid Javid

The most difficult time for a new secretary of state is normally the first three months in the job. An early mistake can sink confidence among both the public and Whitehall officials. But for Sajid Javid, his first three months as health secretary will be his easiest. The real challenge will come later.

The easing of restrictions on 19 July will almost certainly go ahead, which means Javid will be able to point to an early success. I understand that the current plan, which the government will set out next week (though the formal decision on whether to proceed will only be taken a week beforehand), is for a comprehensive reopening. The one-metre rule will be ditched, masks will no longer be compulsory and venues will be allowed to operate at full capacity again. The aim is that all legal restrictions will be removed apart from the requirement to isolate for people who test positive for Covid. Test and Trace will continue to ping those who have been in contact with the infected, but for most people tests should be sufficient to allow them to continue their daily business.

Vaccine passports will exist for international travel. But domestically venues will not be legally compelled to check attendees’ Covid status. There will, however, be no new laws to stop them from doing so. I suspect some large venues will be keen to use immunity certification if they think there is a chance this will allow them to stay open later in the year. In a sign that domestic vaccine passports are not dead, one Whitehall source describes certification as ‘a tool that can be used come winter if we need it’.