Debate contribution: Coronavirus Act 2020 (Extension of Powers to Act for the Protection of Public Health) (No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 2023

Debate contribution by Mr Robin Swann on 11 March 2024.

MLA: Mr Robin Swann
Party at the time: Ulster Unionist Party
Date: 11 March 2024
Type: Debate contribution (made as a minister)
Business: Executive Committee Business
Heading: Coronavirus Act 2020 (Extension of Powers to Act for the Protection of Public Health) (No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 2023
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4269560

Text

I beg to move
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for your indulgence. First, by way of clarification, Members will note that there were three statutory rules on the Order Paper. After they were first submitted a number of weeks ago, it was confirmed to my Department late last Friday evening, as I understand it, by Assembly authorities that there was no legislative or legal need or, indeed, basis to move the first two, not least due to the time frames involved. Whilst, in the circumstances, I would have preferred to have moved them to allow for further debate, I understand that it is not an option available to me. Nevertheless, in relation to the third statutory rule, I will begin by briefly setting out the background to the debate. As Members will be well aware, the current primary public health legislation in Northern Ireland, the Public Health Act (Northern Ireland) 1967, does not enable us to protect our citizens in the same way as other parts of the UK. Faced with the impact of the pandemic, the Coronavirus Act 2020 (CVA) inserted temporary powers into the Public Health Act to enable my Department to bring health protection regulations to the Executive and the Assembly for consideration. The purpose was to protect our citizens from infection or contamination relating to coronavirus in Northern Ireland. Members will also recall that, whilst restrictions were ordinarily based on professional medical and scientific advice, ultimately the decision to proceed or not was a matter for the Executive and the parties that were represented in it. Whilst the making of the regulations was something that we never envisaged having to do, they were crucial in the response to the pandemic. The virus changed rapidly over time, and the regulation-making powers enabled us to react quickly within days, sometimes even hours. Members will recall that schedule 18 to the Coronavirus Act inserted powers into the Public Health Act that enabled the Northern Ireland Department of Health to make health protection regulations for the purpose of preventing, protecting against, controlling or providing a public health response to the incidence of the spread of infection or contamination in Northern Ireland. The CVA powers were due to expire on 24 March 2022. However, Members will recall that, by way of contingency preparedness and so that the powers provided by the CVA did not lapse, the powers have since been extended on a number of occasions, for a time frame of six months each time. Today's debate, therefore, is about ratifying one of those decisions, one of the three extensions that were decided on in the absence of a functioning Assembly and Executive. In particular, the third listed statutory rule is amending the expiry date of section 48 of and schedule 18 to the CVA from 24 September 2023 to 24 March 2024. Ideally, I would not be standing here asking for retrospective approval, but the reality is that Northern Ireland is uniquely legislatively disadvantaged compared with England, Scotland and Wales. They have legislative options open to them that are not available to us in Northern Ireland. With so much disruption and the stop-start nature of the operation of the Assembly and Executive, we regrettably remain at a major legislative disadvantage. Throughout the pandemic, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) provided robust expert advice to support the people of Northern Ireland and to help us navigate the unprecedented challenges that the pandemic presented to us all. Both have advised that today's extension until later this month is necessary. However, I need to be honest with Members and say that they are also clear that, until a permanent legislative change is made, putting Northern Ireland on a similar footing to the rest of the United Kingdom, further temporary provisions are likely to be required. Not having the full range of public health interventions immediately available in the event of a significant variant of COVID-19 emerging would pose a significant gap in policy- and decision-makers' ability to respond. I have absolutely no plans and certainly no desire to introduce regulations, and, even if the highly unlikely were to happen and restrictions were considered necessary, it would be a decision for the Executive to take collectively.
That should not detract from our responsibility to be prepared to respond to the disease. It is fair to say that the level of risk from COVID-19 has significantly reduced, but the virus continues to evolve, so it is only right and sensible that we maintain the ability to respond to it.
Locally, our Public Health Agency continues to monitor the situation. The UK Health Security Agency also monitors data relating to variants in the UK and internationally. Our genomic sequencing continues to be a key process in identifying new variants, but it takes time, with potentially weeks' worth of information needed before a variant can be determined as being common. Other, more immediate indicators may require us to act swiftly to protect our citizens, but, without the extended powers under the Coronavirus Act, there is a significant risk that we would not be able to respond at the required pace. I remind Members that, during the pandemic, the regulation-making powers enabled us to react quickly, within days or even hours, to protect our citizens. Let me be clear: if the House does not extend the powers, they will fall on 24 March 2024, and, at that point, Northern Ireland will be at a disadvantage to other parts of the UK in our readiness to respond to any significant variant of concern. Responding from that position would require new primary legislation to enable regulations to be brought forward to the Executive and the Assembly. Although that could be achieved, it is impossible to say with absolute certainty how long the process could take. Certainly, any decisions in Northern Ireland could not be taken in tandem with the other parts of the UK or of these islands. Extending the powers under the Coronavirus Act 2020 until a permanent solution is in place will simply provide us with the ability to quickly bring health protection regulations to the Northern Ireland Executive for their consideration, where the information available to us and public health advice indicates that we need to rapidly respond to a new variant. As I said, any health protection regulations would require Executive approval followed by presentation to the Assembly. My Department is moving at pace to bring forward a permanent solution through a new public health protection Bill, and I intend to seek agreement from Executive colleagues in the coming weeks to launch a public consultation on those policy proposals before the summer, with a view to the Bill being introduced in the autumn of this year. I am fully committed to delivering a permanent solution, but it will take time. With no functioning Assembly for almost two years, we were robbed of the opportunity to make progress up to now, but I am determined that we will move as quickly as we can. Therefore, after due deliberation and taking into consideration the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Adviser, I advised the Health Committee and my Executive colleagues that, subject to today's motion being passed, there will be a need for further provisions while we continue to progress the delayed permanent solution that I have set out. Finally, the extension of the powers is about being able to protect our citizens should the worst happen. It is merely our insurance policy to ensure that we can, if we absolutely have to, respond to protect our citizens. I therefore commend the order to the Assembly.

1,276 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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