Debate contribution: The 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: The 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 4270013

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I will refer to some of the points that Members made. The Chair of the Health Committee raised a number of general points. I thank the Committee for its collaborative working on these statutory rules, for the questions that its members asked and for the engagement that the Committee has had with my officials about due diligence, which I welcome. A number of Members specifically asked what happens if the motion does not pass and whether emergency legislation could be introduced if needed. That point was raised by the Health Committee member from the Opposition. He misses the point, however, about the difference between introducing regulations, which could take two to three days, and having the ability to introduce regulations. The motion is about having the ability to introduce regulations, not about the regulations themselves. The Member is slightly mistaken in comparing the order to the Budget Bill, which was introduced in two weeks. After 24 March, the provisions would fall, and Northern Ireland would then be at a disadvantage compared with other parts of the UK in its readiness to respond to any significant COVID variant or any emerging variant of concern. Responding from that position would require primary legislation to be passed before I could bring regulations to the Executive and, indeed, to the Assembly. I remind the House that, during the pandemic, the regulation-making powers enabled us to react quickly when needed. Mrs Dodds, I think, asked when a public health Bill would be ready. I intend to seek agreement from Executive colleagues in the coming weeks to launch a public consultation in April or May on the policy proposals underpinning a draft Bill. I then hope to introduce a Bill in the Assembly in the autumn. We will see how quickly the Opposition can get that legislation through all its stages in the House. The reason that I am not launching a consultation this month and am instead having to delay it for a short period is that there are important issues that I want to take on board. There is a four-nations review of the list of notifiable diseases and causative agents specified in our public health legislation, and I want to make sure that we align with the rest of the UK. A four-nations border health legislation subgroup has been established to review border health provisions across the United Kingdom as they relate to public health legislation. That is being done with a view to four-nations alignment.
I thank the Committee Chair. We did engage on that point earlier today. As I said, I hope to launch the public consultation in April and May of this year. Once the consultation takes place, that will allow for the legislation to be introduced for debate in the autumn of this year. That will still not give me the power to introduce regulations, however. It is about starting the legislative process.
Thank you very much for that reminder, Mr Deputy Speaker. Bringing primary legislation through the House is not as simple as that. The Member knows well that it is not so simple to move at speed with what is needed. The motion is about giving us the power that will enable us to bring forward the regulations. The overarching framework for the legislation that will give us the ability to do that is already there. I do not see the cause for concern about having the ability to move at pace on that, if necessary, although, as I said in my opening comments, I hope that it is never needed again. With regard to the question of whether that Bill could be expedited, my officials are working with officials from other Departments, given that the Bill will be cross-cutting in nature, and with key stakeholders prior to bringing draft proposals to Executive colleagues for consideration. That work requires there to be careful consideration of the issues and of how we manage future health security issues and threats. The dedicated Bill team in my Department is working to bring forward the draft public health Bill to update the Public Health Act (Northern Ireland) 1967, which needs dramatic alteration so that we can make those changes.
Yes, it is fair to say that we could introduce legislation, but it would take weeks to do so, rather than days, which is what this enabling regulation would allow for. This would allow us to bring forward the regulations rather than bring forward legislation to enable us to make regulations. In the case that the Member is talking about, we would need to have the overarching primary legislation that would give us the power to make regulations, and we would then have to bring forward regulations. Extending this power will allow us to take the shorter step of going straight to the regulations. The Chair of the Health Committee asked what else was being done across all of this island specifically. My officials have ongoing engagement with their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland in relation to a proposed health protective legislation framework. While the Bill that is coming forward cannot make provision for border issues, as they are reserved matters, that ongoing engagement is important to us and always has been. There were a number of other points. I have already covered, in response to Mr McGrath, the question of why the Bill has been delayed. In response to Mrs Dodds's point, I appreciate the Member's position. I spent considerable time with her on taking these issues through when she was in the Executive. As Minister for the Economy, she was diligent and passionate about raising the concerns that her stakeholders raised with her. I will always say that I appreciate the respectful nature with which we were able to disagree during that time. I know where she and her party are coming from as regards today's issue, and it is more with sorrow than with anger that I appreciate their position on this. With regard to Miss McAllister's point about where we are with introducing the other legislation, we have to look to what our ultimate aim is for public health legislation, as the Justice Minister was saying. That is why I am hopeful that our public consultation, which we will launch in April or May of this year, will allow us to address all those peculiarities and align us with the rest of our UK counterparts in having that primary legislation. In closing, I thank Mr Chambers for his support and his comments recognising that we are doing this because we need to make sure that there is alignment across all four nations and that we can act in tandem, should an emergency present itself.
I will.
It would be a significant piece of work. It would involve taking everybody who is currently involved in drafting our public health Bill and diverting them, for a number of weeks, to produce emergency legislation to cover what might be a very short time needed to respond to a specific issue. Allowing these regulations to go forward, which would allow enabling regulations to be brought, is a far better use of time and resources.
In closing, I ask Members to be conscious that the decision of the House is whether it wants to maintain a level of preparedness and resilience to protect our citizens, should a significant variant of concern emerge. It is my firm view that we must retain these regulation-making powers and that we cannot risk being in a position where, taking account of the public health advice, we cannot immediately respond to protect the public health of the citizens whom we all represent. I hope that Members agree that this is the responsible approach, and I ask that you approve the order tabled for debate today. I commend the order to the Assembly.

1,305 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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