Robin Swann
North Antrim · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for his detailed statement. I know how passionate he is about the subject and how many times he has brought it to the Executive.”
“It has been reported that today will potentially be the warmest day of the year. As we move into the summer and our summer holidays, I want to raise public awareness of wildfires across Northern Ireland, which have been detrimental to farmland and our environment over the past number of years.”
“Wildfires are still having a detrimental impact on our environment and, occasionally, on livestock, but that reduction shows the impact of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service's proactive approach to educating the general public and engaging with rural communities and schools on its fire safety message, which is to stay alert, not…”
“There has been a lot of talk of sport in this place over the past few days, with everybody concentrating on UEFA. One sport that is going on across Northern Ireland at the minute is cross-community and goes across all age groups without fear, favour or distinction: pigeon racing.”
“I want to put on record that, since this place passed the amendment that recognised pigeon racing as a sport under the 2016 Act, over the past five years, pigeon racing clubs across Northern Ireland have been able to obtain £113,000 of rates rebates through the sports and recreation rate relief, allowing many of those clubs to continue ra…”
“There was much coverage on social media over the weekend of an incident in Staines in England, in which a police car rammed a young calf to bring it under control. It has restarted the conversation about animal cruelty. <BR /> <BR />I am dealing with a specific case in my constituency.”
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“I thank the Member for her question. The evidence that is available demonstrates that the healthcare courses that are commissioned are attractive under the current support arrangements. Local universities report low attrition rates out of those courses, and, historically, all have been heavily oversubscribed — a position that actually increased even further for 2021 entry. <BR /> <BR />For individual courses, my Department provides the following support. Eligible nursing and midwifery students on commissioned courses from Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University receive a non-means-tested bursary of £5,165 per annum or £430 per month. They may also be eligible for a range of means-tested and non-means-tested bursary elements.”
“This is a vital opportunity to ensure that the health and social care system in Northern Ireland is focused not just on treating ill health but on building population health resilience well into the future. I commend the Bill to the House.”
“I do not need to remind Members that reaching the Final Stage of the Bill is not the end of the matter. As Members will be aware, the board closure is the first step in a staged approach. That is being done in the context of a wider programme of work that is under way on the development of an integrated care system in Northern Ireland that will look at how we plan and manage our services in a way that promotes integration, collaboration and service improvements. Partnerships are the bedrock of the integrated care system model. Members can therefore be reassured that significant work has been, and will continue to be, undertaken to engage with all the relevant stakeholders moving forward.”
“Having been in post since January 2020, however, I can assure Members that I see their passion, commitment and dedication to the health service in Northern Ireland day and daily, no matter what their departmental role or function is in making the change that we need to see in our health service so that we can deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.”
“I thank the members of the Committee for proposing the amendments that enabled us to adapt the original Bill and for their collaborative approach in bringing it to this stage. <BR /> <BR />I acknowledge the contributors to the debate who spoke about the work of my Department's officials and the Health and Social Care Board to bring this work, which started over six years ago, nearly to fruition today as it reaches Final Stage in the Assembly. Ms Bradshaw said that she had not intended to speak, but she talked about the enthusiasm and passion of my departmental officials. That is not something that I hear often in the House.”
“I thank the Members who have contributed not only to the debate today but to debates at every stage since the Bill was introduced. I will make some comments on Members' contributions. Again, I place on record my thanks to the Chair, the Deputy Chair — in her absence — and members of the Health Committee for working in partnership with the Department and its officials in developing the Bill. A number of Members talked about the amendments that were proposed. As part of that collaborative approach, we accepted the amendments and the sentiment with which they were brought. When it comes to the ideal forming of legislation, that is what our Committee structure and the Assembly is really about: that partnership approach.”
“Ultimately, as the model and partnerships mature, the local area bodies will take more control over the planning and funding of the services that are delivered in their localities in order to deliver the most appropriate services to meet the identified needs of their local populations. The powers that are contained in the Bill will ensure that the area integrated partnership boards are established in statute and that local input and intelligence continue to be central to how we plan, manage and deliver our services in the future. <BR /> <BR />Of course, the regulations will be subject to Assembly scrutiny. As I have mentioned previously, that is what the business of the Assembly is about: delivering effective legislation. Therefore, I urge all Members to support the Bill at Final Stage. I commend the Bill to the House.”
“The central aim of the integrated care system model is to integrate care across different organisations and settings, ensuring that all parts of the system work collaboratively and in partnership to improve the health and well-being of our population.”
“<BR /> <BR />Engagement with staff has been a priority and will remain so. Staff from all impacted organisations are working collaboratively on the programme of work, which will see the smooth transition of functions and staff to the new operating model. <BR /> <BR />With the recently agreed amendments, the Bill also facilitates the continuation of local commissioning groups. That will ensure that local input in the commissioning of services will continue post board closure and will remain in place until regulations for the new local area bodies are made. <BR /> <BR />The local area bodies, which will be known as area integrated partnership boards, will be an important part of the wider integrated care system model that is being developed in Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is important that I recognise the input made by the Office of the Legislative Counsel in the preparation of the legislation. Its support and advice throughout has been greatly appreciated by my Department. <BR /> <BR />If I may, I would like to recap on particular elements of the Bill and what it seeks to achieve. First, and, importantly, is the closure of the board and, with that, the transfer of responsibility for its functions to the Department and its staff to the Business Services Organisation (BSO) in a host arrangement that will see it discharge its responsibilities under the direction of my Department. That will, as a first step, streamline our structures, reduce bureaucracy and allow for better coordination of our resource, enabling the system to operate more effectively and efficiently.”
“<BR /> <BR />As Members are aware, the Bill now contains agreed amendments that reflect the commitment to move forward with the necessary transformation and that recognise that, at its core, it must have the local voice. The amendments came about following the Health Committee's scrutiny. Therefore, it is only right that I place on record my sincere thanks to Committee members, their staff and all the Members who contributed to the work and debate on the amendments. <BR /> <BR />I also place on record my thanks to my departmental officials and Health and Social Care Board officials who have been involved from the outset of this piece of work up to today and will be involved over the next few months. It has been a high-level engagement piece of work and a strenuous piece of logistical planning.”
“I have great pleasure today in moving the Final Stage of the Bill. Members will be aware that the decision to close the board was first taken in 2015, following the publication of a review of commissioning, which found our current system to be overly bureaucratic and complex. This has been a long time coming, so I am happy to have been able to bring the Bill forward during my tenure as Health Minister. <BR /> <BR />This is an important juncture not just in providing certainty for the staff of the board but in providing the platform from which we must now develop new ways of planning and managing our services that deliver improved outcomes for our population and, importantly, reduce the health inequalities that are all too prevalent in our society.”
“<BR /> <BR />Protecting our young people from a potentially lifelong nicotine addiction and the as yet unknown impacts of long-term vaping is, without question, an important public health initiative. The 2019 young persons' behaviour and attitudes survey showed that 3% of 11-to-16-year-olds used e-cigarettes regularly, which is once a week. That figure is the same as the 2016 survey and remains relatively low, but, worryingly, one fifth of that age group have tried an e-cigarette at least once. This regulatory safeguard is a vital tool in reducing children's access to e-cigarettes and subsequently reducing the potential for early nicotine addiction. <BR /> <BR />I beg that the regulations be approved.”
“<BR /> <BR />Having covered the points made by Members, I hope that we can all agree on the importance of protecting our young people from exposure to second-hand smoke and nicotine addiction. The 2019-2020 health survey showed that 92% of adults who own a family car do not allow smoking in it when children are present. That is an encouragingly high number, but there is no room for complacency. More broadly, it is hoped that the Smoke-Free (Private Vehicles) Regulations will further reduce any misperceived acceptability of subjecting children to toxic second-hand smoke in any private setting. They will also, hopefully, help to prevent children from taking up the habit by further de-normalising smoking.”
“All three of those conditions must be met. <BR /> <BR />I thank Mr Chambers for his contribution. I am thankful for the acknowledgement of his and my party's support for bringing the regulations forward when we had the opportunity to do so. <BR /> <BR />The final Member who spoke was Ms Bradshaw. She raised a number of points, including the importance of the lobbying of other organisations in making sure that the issue did not drop off the agenda and the work of the all-party group in keeping the issue in focus. I acknowledge the thanks that she passed on to the departmental officials for their engagement in that regard. She also highlighted the importance of the dual approach to enforcement of the regulations involving the PSNI and local government.”
“I am glad that we have got here today with all-party support for what needs to be done. As regards Mr McGrath's indication of the importance of the cancer strategy being brought forward in a timely way, it is imperative that we do that. <BR /> <BR />The Deputy Chair of the Committee raised the issue of when the regulations, especially those on travelling in private vehicles, will come into effect. That is covered on the front page of the regulations. They will be applicable if:”
“is outside the regulations. That is covered in the front page of the regulations. <BR /> <BR />The Deputy Chair of the Committee, Ms Pam Cameron, indicated her support and asked that, when evidence is received in the months and years ahead, I give a commitment to bring the regulations in. I will give the Department of Health's commitment in the months and years ahead that it will move when the evidence is presented. I will not make any presumptions about who may be in this office at that point. <BR /> <BR />I turn to Mr McGrath's comments. I thank the SDLP for its support for the draft statutory rules, which he described as "adequate". I think that they extensively give effect to the policy intent of the regulations over the years that they have been sitting in abeyance.”
“<BR /> <BR />I join Ms Bradshaw in acknowledging the organisations that continued to lobby for the regulations, which bring us in line with the rest of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. <BR /> <BR />The Chair of the Committee and Ms Bradshaw raised a concern about caravans and motorhomes. I draw the Members' attention to regulation 2(2)(6) of the draft statutory rule, which clarifies that:”
“First, I thank the Chair, Deputy Chair and members of the Health Committee not just for speaking in the debate but for their support in bringing forward the regulations to the House. <BR /> <BR />I will address a number of issues that were raised in the debate. The delay in bringing the regulations forward was noted by a number of Members. As the Chair of the Committee indicated, the delay was caused by this place not sitting and by the officials working on issues relating to the pandemic and to Brexit. When the opportunity arose to bring forward the regulations, at a time that allowed my officials to bring them forward and the Committee to engage with them, we did so.”
“After they have been made, a period of awareness raising with retailers and the public will follow, and the regulations will become effective from 1 February 2022. This package of regulatory changes aims to protect the most vulnerable, and I commend the motions to the House.”
“That support came from across the board and included representation from all sectors. The vast majority of respondents agreed that an offence of proxy purchasing e-cigarettes should be created, bringing those products into line with other age-restricted products such as tobacco and alcohol. Furthermore, the Health Committee, at its meeting on 7 October 2021, agreed that it was content for my Department to make the proposed regulations, and draft regulations were subsequently approved by the Committee on 25 November. <BR /> <BR />It is with the Committee's support and Executive agreement that I bring the draft regulations before the House today. The regulations are subject to affirmative resolution.”
“<BR /> <BR />While the Department consulted on the provisions relating to nicotine products in the draft Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill in the autumn of 2014, I gave a commitment that a further consultation would be carried out on the draft regulations that would also provide the public with an opportunity to comment on a draft regulatory impact assessment. That additional consultation ran from 4 September to 27 October 2017, and a total of 28 responses were received from a variety of stakeholders, including local government, the voluntary and community sector, professional bodies and tobacco and e-cigarette manufacturers. The majority of respondents supported the policy aim of restricting the sale of nicotine-inhaling products to persons over the age of 18 and agreed with the proposals as set out in the draft regulations.”
“A retailer convicted of selling a nicotine-inhaling product to a person under the age of 18 or an adult convicted of a proxy purchasing offence will be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, which is currently up to £5,000. That level of fine is consistent with the corresponding tobacco age of sale offence. <BR /> <BR />In addition, restricted sales orders and restricted premises orders, which came into force in Northern Ireland in 2016, will be extended to include offences in relation to underage sales of nicotine-inhaling products. Such an order, if granted by the court, can prohibit a named individual or named premises from selling both tobacco and nicotine-inhaling products for up to three years.”
“The new legislation will be enforced by the environmental health staff of the district councils. It is not anticipated that further funding will be required beyond that which is already provided through the Public Health Agency (PHA) in Northern Ireland for the enforcement of tobacco control legislation. Enforcement authorities will have the option of issuing fixed penalty notices for either offence in relation to the sale of nicotine-inhaling products. It is proposed that the penalty amount for both offences — selling nicotine-inhaling products to a person under the age of 18 and the offence of proxy purchasing — will be £250. That mirrors existing penalties for tobacco sales offences.”
“An exception is made for products that are licensed by the UK-wide Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Those products will be made available to children only on prescription or if the product's medicine marketing authorisations provide that it is licensed for use by under-18s. At present, however, no such products are licensed.”
“<BR /> <BR />In summary, the regulations make it an offence to sell nicotine-inhaling products, commonly known as "electronic cigarettes" or "vapes", and certain related parts of such devices to under-18s and for an adult to purchase or attempt to purchase a nicotine-inhaling product on behalf of a child.”
“Furthermore, while some evidence suggests that e-cigarette use among children is largely restricted to those who have already experimented with tobacco, my Department is keen to ensure that it does not act as a gateway into smoking. The evidence of a potential gateway effect is mixed, but I believe that it is right to be cautious. The Department has made considerable inroads into reducing smoking prevalence among 11-to-16-year-olds from 9% in 2007 to 4% in 2016 and 2019 and does not wish to see that trend reversed as a result of young people having easy access to e-cigarette products.”
“The most common form of nicotine-inhaling products are e-cigarettes. Those products are completely tobacco-free and are made up of nicotine-based liquid that is then vaporised and inhaled. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance, and there are no legal restrictions on the sale of those products to children in Northern Ireland. While research has shown nicotine-inhaling products to be considerably less harmful than tobacco, the long-term effects of e-cigarette use are largely unknown. A 2014 report by the World Health Organization expressed particular concern about the potential for adolescent nicotine exposure to have long-term consequences for brain development. The report goes on to say that e-cigarette use "poses serious threats to adolescents" and recommends that retailers should be prohibited from selling e-cigarettes to minors.”
“Furthermore, the regulation makes it an offence for an adult to purchase or attempt to purchase a nicotine-inhaling product on behalf of a child. The provisions mirror existing arrangements to prevent the sale of tobacco products to and their use by young people under the age of 18. <BR /> <BR />The Tobacco Retailer (Fixed Penalty) (Amount) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 will replace the schedule to the Tobacco Retailer (Fixed Penalty) (Amount) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016, and that will allow for the inclusion of the amounts of fixed penalties for offences relating to the sale of proxy purchases of nicotine-containing products. <BR /> <BR />Since the introduction of smoke-free legislation in Northern Ireland in April 2007, the market for nicotine-inhaling products has grown exponentially.”
“It is with the Committee's support and Executive agreement that I bring the draft regulations before you today. Subject to Assembly approval, a period of publicity and awareness raising will take place, and the regulations will become effective from 1 February 2022. <BR /> <BR />I also seek the Assembly's approval for the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 and the Tobacco Retailer (Fixed Penalty) (Amount) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021, which together will introduce a minimum age of sale of 18 years for nicotine-inhaling products, commonly known as "electronic cigarettes" or "vapes", and certain related parts of such devices to protect children from the risk and associated harms of nicotine addiction.”
“On conviction for the offence of smoking in a smoke-free private vehicle, a court can award a fine up to a maximum level 3 on the standard scale, which is £1,000. For failure to prevent smoking in a smoke-free private vehicle, a court can award a fine of a maximum level 4 on the standard scale, which is £2,500. <BR /> <BR />A summary of the consultation on the proposals was published in July 2018. Respondents were largely in favour of the proposed ban. Only three respondents did not support the proposed measures: all three were from the tobacco industry. <BR /> <BR />At its meeting on 7 October 2021, the Health Committee agreed that it was content for my Department to make the proposed regulations, and draft regulations were subsequently approved by the Committee on 25 November. I thank the Committee for its work on that.”
“While those powers are not available to district council officers, they will be able to take action if they observe an offence in a parked vehicle or if they are able to obtain licence details from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). <BR /> <BR />Decisions about whether to issue warnings or fixed penalty notices or to refer an alleged offence straight to the court to be dealt with will be at the discretion of the enforcement agency. It is proposed that the penalty for both offences — smoking in a private smoke-free vehicle and failing to prevent smoking in a private smoke-free vehicle — will be £50. That mirrors the existing penalty for smoking in a smoke-free public place, a workplace or a vehicle.”
“<BR /> <BR />The draft Smoke-Free (Private Vehicles) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 provide that a vehicle is smoke-free if it is enclosed, there is more than one person present and there is a person under the age of 18 in the vehicle. In Northern Ireland, the enforcement of tobacco control legislation is the sole responsibility of district councils. That includes the enforcement of the legislation on smoke-free work vehicles. However, the regulations propose that a dual enforcement approach between district councils and the Police Service of Northern Ireland is adopted in relation to all smoke-free vehicles. Under existing powers, PSNI officers are able to request that a vehicle stop if they suspect that an offence is being committed, which would facilitate the enforcement of the legislation.”
“From its date of commencement in April 2007, it has been an offence to smoke in all indoor public places and workplaces. Smoking in shared work vehicles, including all forms of public transport, is also banned under the Order. The Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 contains two offences, which have been enforced, in relation to public and work vehicles, and they came into effect in 2007. They are smoking in a smoke-free vehicle and failing to prevent smoking in a smoke-free vehicle. The draft regulations will have the effect of extending those offences to include a private vehicle when a person under the age of 18 is present.”
“Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of second-hand smoke as they breathe more rapidly and inhale more pollutants per pound of body weight than adults. In 2010, a report by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) affirmed that children exposed to second-hand smoke had an increased risk of asthma, lower respiratory tract infections, bronchitis, middle ear disease, bacterial meningitis and sudden infant death syndrome as well as general reduced respiratory function. It is also important to remember that children are likely to have less control than adults over how they travel and whom they travel with. <BR /> <BR />The Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 provides the legislative framework for existing smoke-free public places and workplaces.”
“Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I seek the Assembly's approval for the three sets of regulations, which seek to protect children from nicotine addiction and the harms of second-hand smoke. <BR /> <BR />The Smoke-Free (Private Vehicles) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 will ban smoking in enclosed private vehicles where a child under the age of 18 is present. Protecting the population from exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke is a key objective in the Department's tobacco control strategy. Second-hand smoke is a combination of mainstream smoke exhaled by smokers and side-stream smoke, which is given off by the burning end of a cigarette or cigar or by a pipe. The long-term effects of regular exposure to second-hand smoke include a higher risk of lung cancer, coronary heart disease, chronic respiratory symptoms and asthma.”
“<BR /> <BR />I come back to my previous comment that it is about utilising something that we did not have this time last year: the COVID vaccine. It is about making sure that people come forward and that we make it as easy and as accessible as possible for anyone to come forward for their first, second and booster doses, so that we can utilise the protection that the vaccines bring. <BR /> <BR />That is why I also appeal to those inside and outside the House who may declare themselves not to be anti-vaccine but whose message, as it is put out, deters people from getting the vaccine. They think that the message that they are being given — that dog whistle — shows that there is a level of support for them in the House that I do not believe is really there.”
“It has been a while since such a press conference has happened, and I hope that people take some comfort from the fact that the three of us were there, giving as united a message as could have been delivered at that point. <BR /> <BR />We need people to refocus and re-energise their activity on the things that we know to work. It is about wearing face coverings. It is about good hand and respiratory hygiene. We all know that those things work. We have seen England reintroduce those things that we cautioned it about removing a number of months ago. At that point, some people said that we should have kept pace with England, but England is now reversing to where we have already been with those measures. We know that they work.”
“I will give the Member her dues. The answer to her last question is that it is not easy. However, she will know that I am committed to being on a single message, because it is a single message that resonates not just from me and my Department but from everyone who works in the health service in its entirety. They have been at the forefront of this for the past 22 months and want to see collective leadership and a collective message because they know that that actually works. That is what gets through to the people of Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I know that there are cynics who seek to detract from what happened towards the end of last week, but there was a sense of unity in the press conference that I held with the First Minister and the deputy First Minister.”
“I thank the Member. The Executive had a conversation about the paper that was put forward on additional supports that could be put in place for those who have to isolate. The Member is aware of the loan that is available through the Department for Communities to support those who have to self-isolate. It is a non-repayable loan: it does not have to be paid back. Again, that advice and guidance is given out through the Public Health Agency in any conversations that it has with people to ask them to self-isolate because of not only the new variant but the delta variant.”
“I thank the Member. She will know from hearing me speak in the House that I usually do not disclose the content of papers that I have shared with Executive colleagues before they are shared more widely. The reason why we took the first step on licensed premises after engagement with stakeholders was that it is proving more difficult to have non-licensed premises in a position where measures could be mandated under the regulations, such as people being identified and COVID certification being managed or enforced. We have committed to further engagement with industry and stakeholders through the process that is led by the Executive's COVID task force to see how we can take a phased approach to the next steps that we take with the regulations.”
“That takes a collective response and a single message from the Executive. We have seen it work in the past. I still believe, especially coming into Christmas and the new year, that if we are really determined to keep things open as they currently are, we have a collective responsibility to follow the guidance that is there.”
“I hope that the steps that the Executive enacted and agreed at their last meeting, after which the deputy First Minister and I made a statement, will prevent us having to take those decisions. No one in the Executive, the Chamber or society wants us to have to take those actions. I encourage people, once again, to follow the advice that has come from my Department, through the Public Health Agency, and that was conveyed at the press conference with the deputy First Minister and me following the Executive's meeting last Wednesday. Ms Bradley also said about encouraging people to come forward and get their vaccines — should it be their first, second or third dose, their booster dose or the flu vaccine: all those actions help us to keep the economy open and society going.”
“I have not had any engagement at that level, but I attended a meeting on Saturday evening led by Michael Gove that included representations from the First Ministers of all the devolved Administrations, and the deputy First Minister was represented there as well. I have not had sight of a request from the Scottish or Welsh First Ministers for a COBRA meeting, but it may have been discussed at First Minister and deputy First Minister level rather than at my level.”
“That has been working over the weekend for travellers who came in through Dublin Airport and travelled on to Northern Ireland. That system is proving effective, and that communication and engagement between us and our counterparts in the Republic of Ireland will continue because that is the best way that we can respond to the variant and the virus.”
“I thank the Member. I spoke with Stephen Donnelly about the steps that we were going to take in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom so that he had an opportunity not just to take similar steps but to brief the Taoiseach. That is why, I think, you will see a similarity in response from the Republic of Ireland regarding the countries of concern that are on the red list. They have not yet stepped up their managed hotel quarantine system, but Stephen Donnelly said that he would have that conversation to instigate that policy again. <BR /> <BR />As I indicated, our officials were in touch over the weekend, especially around sharing the data, now that we have agreement in place for sharing passenger locator form information.”
“No, I will not accept that. The 13-page paper that I supplied to my Executive colleagues on Friday afternoon set out not the change of direction but the change of step and speed. The legal advice and engagement that we had with the hospitality sector over the week, led by the Executive's COVID-19 task force, led to a change in the paper that had originally been set out. A number of small changes to the paper were communicated to all my Executive colleagues on Thursday afternoon, and I am slightly surprised that the paper that I supplied to the Executive was one that was not leaked.”
“I agree with the Member about the regulations that are being brought forward not just by me but by the Executive and by debate in the House. The best way to keep our economy open is by keeping our people safe. That is our key aim. That is what we set about delivering daily. <BR /> <BR />In regard to the Member's question about comments that were made at the end of the week and whether I had any engagement with the Economy Minister over the weekend, no, I have not.”
“Those meetings mean that we are coming at this with a unified sense of purpose.”
“An Ulster Unionist Health Minister from Northern Ireland, a Conservative, Tory Health Minister from England, a Labour Health Minister from Wales and a Scottish nationalist Health Minister from Scotland — even though other members have changed over the past number of months — all come to those meetings with the same sense of purpose, which is to make sure that we manage the pandemic as best we can and support our health services and those who work in them. Since Friday afternoon, when omicron was escalated to a variant of concern by the World Health Organization, we have had a number of meetings over the weekend at Health Minister and then First Minister levels on the ongoing engagement and commitment between our Chief Medical Officers and public health agencies.”