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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“So let us not lose or abuse the time between now and when we are able to deliver the vaccine. <BR /> <BR />I thank Members for bringing this motion, as it provides a timely opportunity to provide the House with the update that was given to the Executive last Thursday. The update will answer many of the initial questions that Mrs Cameron posed when she moved the motion. <BR /> <BR />When the Executive returned on 11 January this year, no one in the Chamber could have imagined what lay ahead or that we would soon be entering a once-in-a-generation global health crisis that would push all of us — not least our front-line health and care staff — to the extremes. However, while the pandemic has been a health crisis, the impact has been much wider, as has been mentioned.”
“As Members have said, today we reached another sad milestone in this pandemic, where the number of COVID-related deaths recorded on my Department's COVID dashboard has passed 1,000. We must always remember that we are not talking about statistics but much-loved people who will be desperately missed. My profound sympathies go to every bereaved family. This is a harsh reminder of the threat posed by COVID-19, and no one should underestimate the virus or delude themselves that it can never affect them. <BR /> <BR />I am very aware that there is a small and vociferous minority who seek to play down the coronavirus risks. To anyone trying to play it down and minimise the impact, I say, please, think again. This vaccine has come too late for those people.”
“We will give you the vaccine rather than the virus.”
“<BR /> <BR />The other amendments that require legislative consent add further strength to the Bill by providing for necessary information-sharing in accordance with international agreements and provide clarity on the offences clause. They also provide further safeguards in the regulation-making processes by outlining consideration to be taken when making regulations, by prioritising public safety and by clarifying attractiveness. <BR /> <BR />Regulations made under the Bill have the requirement to include public consultation and will mainly apply the draft affirmative procedure. The Bill now also provides for a new reporting obligation. <BR /> <BR />All these amendments will provide greater scrutiny for the Northern Ireland Assembly, which I welcome. I commend the motion and the LCM to the House.”
“The Bill provides for increased Parliamentary and Assembly scrutiny of regulatory amendments to the law that relate to human medicines, because the vast majority will now be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure, with the exception of fees and supplementary provisions in the civil sanctions regime for devices, as I mentioned in my opening comments. This is an enhancement to the current way in which updates to the legislation have been made, which have been subject to the negative resolution procedure to date. There is also a duty in the Bill for there to be public consultation before making future regulations.”
“Secondary legislation made under the Bill is strictly limited to the matters found on the face of the Bill, without the ability to amend and update current regulatory frameworks. We are and will be unable to take appropriate and proportionate steps to address patient safety concerns.”
“I reassure Members that the work is ongoing, but it has been delayed by the current pandemic. I will provide a formal response to the Cumberlege report, following full consideration by that group, which will take into consideration things such as a patient safety commissioner, an issue that the Member raised, and the need for what should, we think, be a national redress system that covers the entire United Kingdom. <BR /> <BR />Concerns were raised about the delegated powers in the Bill and whether they simply replaced the delegated powers provided for in section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. The majority of the sought delegation powers reflect specifically the powers available to the UK now, which are in that Act.”
“The LCM provides the necessary enabling powers for regulations to be prepared to require healthcare establishments to submit that data to a central database on a UK-wide basis. The benefits of a UK-wide system include the analysis of a much wider pool of data to identify signals indicating possible issues with or within a device. <BR /> <BR />An independent medicines and medical devices safety review group has been established in my Department to consider the recommendations of the review in a local context, including how they align with their ongoing work on patient safety. The working group consists of relevant representatives from the Department's policy and professional leads, and they are collaborating with colleagues across the United Kingdom on the matter.”
“However, as the Internal Market Bill is still making its way through Parliament, that advice is caveated by the need for ongoing review of the position, which could change over the next few weeks. <BR /> <BR />A number of Members mentioned the vital work of the Cumberlege review and the formal response to the crucial recommendations that came from its report. As Members will be aware, the Cumberlege report highlights the failure of the healthcare system in a number of areas, including the need to listen to and understand patients' voices and their concerns about certain treatments. Recommendation 7 of that report relates to the requirement for a central patient-identifiable database recording the key details of all medical devices that are implanted.”
“<BR /> <BR />My Department will continue to work with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on compliance with the Northern Ireland protocol and future relations within the EU. That will include consideration of the optimal supply and logistic models for medical supplies for Northern Ireland, the attractiveness of Northern Ireland for clinical trials and the opportunities that may arise from life sciences. On the specific effects of the Internal Market Bill on the supply of medicines and medical products to Northern Ireland from GB, the advice from our legal advisers is that, post implementation, they are likely to be negligible. That is based on advice received in consultations to date, having considered the provisions of the Bill in its current iteration.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I had a meeting last week with Minister Argar, who leads on this work in Westminster, and both teams of officials, and they made exactly that point. Now that we have a 12-month period that allows us to put in place a concrete base, we must not waste any of that time. We agreed on that. In recognition of the tremendous work, as noted by many Members, that my Department has been involved in to secure that 12 month-period, we must ensure that we do not lose the expertise on either side of the table, because we need to make the best use of the 12 months that lie ahead so that we can give that reassurance to the industry in Northern Ireland on the continuity of supply.”
“At the fourth meeting of the Ireland/Northern Ireland specialised committee on 5 November, the UK Government and the EU Commission reached an agreement to allow the pharmaceutical industry 12 months from 1 January to comply with new regulatory requirements that apply only to Northern Ireland and are a consequence of the Northern Ireland protocol. That will allow industry time to adapt to the new arrangements and to mitigate risks to barriers to trade. The MHRA will continue to regulate medicines for Northern Ireland and, as the UK regulator, will represent all parts of the United Kingdom in ensuring their attractiveness as a place to trade.”
“I hope that that lays to rest some of the concerns that were raised. <BR /> <BR />There were also concerns regarding the attractiveness of Northern Ireland in terms of supply of medicines and medical devices. The UK is currently aligned with the EU acquis for medicines and medical devices. That will change after transition, when Northern Ireland will remain aligned with the European Union and the rest of the United Kingdom will not. There are long-term implications for the supply and regulation of medicines in Northern Ireland, where the large majority of medicine supplies are drawn from the UK market via GB. Northern Ireland is part of a UK-wide medical supplies contingency programme for EU exit, which is led by the Department of Health and Social Care, with the involvement of all the devolved Administrations.”
“After the transition period, the UK will lose access to the EU databases, and information sharing with EU countries and institutions will be facilitated by information-sharing agreements and arrangements similar to those in place with non-EU countries. The legal status of those agreements or arrangements varies from treaty obligations to more informal exchanges of letters. It is important that, going forward, there is an explicit statutory power that ensures that information can be shared without breaching legal restrictions on information sharing, which includes the common law duty of confidence; the provision of the UK GDPR; individual rights in the Human Rights Act; restrictions on the sharing of information obtained pursuant to specific legislation; and contractual rights.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is not possible to provide a definite list at this time of bodies or countries with which information would need to be shared, but it would include overseas regulators, which includes regulators associated with countries and territories; overseas governments; non-governmental organisations — for example, the World Health Organization; international institutions — for example, the European Medicines Agency; and international networks such as the OCABR Network for Human Biologicals. <BR /> <BR />This information is shared with overseas bodies and networks, and it will be done in two main ways. One is through using EU databases, and another is directly with overseas regulators and bodies and networks, facilitated by information-sharing agreements and arrangements.”
“Questions were raised about who will share the data with whom and why. Information relating to human medicines is and will continue to be shared by the MHRA and the HSC. The MHRA is an executive agency of the DHSC, and both are exercising the powers of the Secretary of State. The power will be expressed as a power of the Secretary of State, so, in respect of Northern Ireland, the power of human medicines should also be exercised by my Department — the Department of Health in Northern Ireland. That is because medicines and the implementation of international obligations are transferred matters for Northern Ireland. For veterinary medicines, the power should similarly be exercised by the Secretary of State and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.”
“<BR /> <BR />An amendment to the Bill has been agreed whereby the Secretary of State will have a statutory duty to consult Scottish Ministers, Welsh Ministers and ourselves, and that has been written into the Bill. In addition to that amendment, there is a separate non-legislative commitment from the Department of Health and Social Care to ongoing discussions on the medical devices information system governance arrangements and the operational details that will ensure that the Department of Health in Northern Ireland is engaged in relevant policy and operational discussions and the development of draft regulations, and I am content with the assurances received on the legislative and non-legislative approach.”
“<BR /> <BR />I will address some of the queries that Members raised during the debate. Assurances were sought on the regulations to be developed to implement the medical devices information system and to take account of the governance arrangements around medical devices and patient safety in Northern Ireland. I want to put on record that Northern Ireland has in place strong information governance arrangements and a code of practice on the sharing of patients' identifiable information both for direct care and secondary use. It is those governance arrangements that I am referring to and to which draft regulations will need to conform.”
“In practical terms, the Bill provides the powers needed to update the current regulatory regime for medicines, clinical devices and clinical trials in response to the end of the transition period, but it also has the best interests of patients at its heart. <BR /> <BR />As I stated earlier, the amendments to the Bill at Lords Committee Stage seek to improve patient safety as well as allow the Assembly greater scrutiny in the regulation-making process. The Bill will provide for the implementation of a new UK-wide medical device information system and will collect and store information linking unique device identifiers to patients, clinicians and specific surgical procedures that implanted the device. This will hugely beneficial to patients and to patient safety now and in the future.”
“I thank Members who contributed to the debate. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Health Committee and the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee for taking the time to examine the legislative consent memorandum and for their helpful and positive engagement with departmental officials on this matter. I appreciate that the Committees, again, had to work within a very challenging timescale, and I thank them for their patience, understanding and cooperation with both Departments. I also thank my Executive colleagues for their support on this matter and for agreeing to the need for a further legislative consent motion on this Bill. <BR /> <BR />I believe that, on this occasion, it is appropriate and makes good sense for Westminster to legislate on matters that are devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly.”
“The Department of Justice has previously considered the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill and, more recently, the amendments that are being proposed. It is content that the current offences and penalties are necessary and commensurate with the current offences and penalties framework in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I trust that Members will understand the importance of Northern Ireland being included in those additional provisions to the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill, as, ultimately, those amendments seek to improve patient safety as well as allow the Assembly greater scrutiny in the regulation-making process. That is why I ask Members to support the motion.”
“<BR /> <BR />To respond specifically to concerns that have been raised about the absence of a definition of "attractiveness to the UK", it has been agreed in an amendment to the Bill to clarify that that is a consideration of the likelihood of the relevant part of the United Kingdom to be seen as an attractive or favourable place in which to supply and conduct clinical trials for human medicines and to develop and supply veterinary medicines. <BR /> <BR />Finally, with regard to offences, an amendment has been agreed to make it clear that the powers that are provided under human medicines and veterinary medicines cannot be used to provide for an offence to be punishable with a sentence of imprisonment of more than two years. That maximum will then apply equally to penalties for new and existing offences.”
“In the application of those three considerations, it has been agreed to provide an overarching duty to have regard to the importance of promoting the health and safety of the public and, in relation to veterinary medicines, the health and welfare of animals. A summary of that assessment must be included in any public consultation on the regulation for human medicines, veterinary medicines, and medical devices. That will strengthen provisions around the exercise of those regulation-making powers and provide reassurance that it is intended only to make regulations to amend the current regulatory regimes where those changes promote health and safety.”
“<BR /> <BR />In addition to those amendments to the Bill, other amendments require legislative consent from the Assembly, including applying the draft affirmative procedure to human and veterinary regulations, except for those solely relating to fees, when the negative resolution will be applied, and for emergency regulations, when the confirmatory procedure will be applied. That will allow for greater parliamentary and Assembly scrutiny on the making of those regulations. <BR /> <BR />Before regulations are made to change the existing regulatory framework, three considerations are applied that assess the safety, availability and attractiveness of the relevant part of the UK to develop and supply those products.”
“<BR /> <BR />I have also agreed that a separate report will be taken forward by Northern Ireland Departments in respect of regulations that are made only by Northern Ireland Departments. That will be laid before the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />Another amendment to the Bill has also been agreed at the Lords' Committee Stage that provides for a public consultation on regulations under the Bill, and that, again, can be used as a vehicle to address any possible issues of regulatory divergence.”
“A further amendment that was agreed at the Lords' Committee Stage in respect of the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill can also be used as a vehicle to address any concerns on possible divergence. A reporting obligation on the Secretary of State is to be provided for in the Bill that will consider the operation of regulations for human medicines, veterinary medicines and medical devices once every two years. That sets out the view of those who have been consulted, whether change has been a made a result of that consultation and includes a look ahead at further proposed regulatory change known at the time within the forthcoming reporting period. Any issue of possible regulatory divergence can be raised within that reporting mechanism.”
“A 12-month period of flexibility has been agreed with the EU to implement the regulations. That will ensure that there will be no disruption to the flow of medicines to Northern Ireland at the end of the transition period.”
“<BR /> <BR />While there are some concerns about the implementation of the NI protocol, formal channels are in place between officials here and their counterparts in the UK. Officials also meet regularly in the Ireland/Northern Ireland Specialised Committee. The Specialised Committee reports to the withdrawal agreement Joint Committee and provides advice on the decisions to taken by the Joint Committee under the protocol. <BR /> <BR />The issues of the falsified medicines directive and the regulatory importation requirements for medicines moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland after the end of the transition period have been raised with the EU through the Specialised Committee.”
“Currently, responsibility for medical device regulation is reserved in respect of the whole of the UK. However, human medicine regulation and veterinary medicine regulation are both transferred matters in relation to Northern Ireland. The MHRA and the VMD regulate those areas UK-wide on a day-to-day basis, and, after the end of the transition period, with regard to human and veterinary medicines and medical devices, under the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol, Northern Ireland will continue to follow the EU acquis. However, the MRHA and the VMD will continue to regulate human and veterinary medicines and medical devices for the whole of the UK and will continue to ensure that patients and animals in Northern Ireland receive the safe and effective medicines and devices that they need.”
“In order that the UK, particularly the regulators — namely the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) — can continue to work with international partners to ensure the safety of medicines in the UK, there is a need to strengthen the legal basis for sharing information internationally. That will be in the form of a statutory information gateway inserted into the Bill to ensure that vital information can be shared with bodies outside the UK, such as oversees regulators, in pursuance of international agreements and arrangements. <BR /> <BR />There has been much discussion at Westminster and among Assembly Members about the potential for regulatory divergence between Great Britain and Northern Ireland with regard to medicines and medical devices.”
“It will ensure that the Department of Health in Northern Ireland is engaged in relevant policy and operational discussions and the development of draft regulations. It is important that we are included in the UK-wide medical devices information system, and I welcome the amendment to the Bill that provides for a statutory duty to consult the devolved Administrations in the development of the regulations and any amendments. Scotland has already given its legislative consent on the matter, and legislative consent is being considered by the Welsh Government in the coming days. <BR /> <BR />I now turn to the other amendments that have been agreed at Lords Committee stage and require legislative consent from the Assembly. The first of those is on the disclosure of information in accordance with international agreements.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is important to ensure that the regulations developed to implement the information system take account of Northern Ireland's information governance and code of practice on the sharing of patients' identifiable information, both for direct care and secondary use. I wrote to Lord Bethell on that point in July 2020, and an amendment to the Bill has been agreed so that, when making regulations, the Secretary of State is required to consult Scottish Ministers, Welsh Ministers and us in Northern Ireland. In addition to that statutory obligation to consult my Department, a separate non-legislative commitment has been given by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ongoing discussions on the medical devices information system's governance arrangements and other operational details.”
“They include the collection and storage of information linking unique device identifiers to patients, clinicians and the specific surgical procedures that implanted the device. It also establishes the systems that will enable health providers to trace patients who have been treated or implanted with a medical device so that they can be provided with appropriate medical treatment if a safety issue occurs with the device. That will be a huge step forward for patient safety, will assist with the timely identification of the patients affected and will help to manage any risks to patient safety.”
“It provides a power by regulations to establish a medical device information system operated by NHS Digital. The amendment was in response to the report from the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, chaired by Baroness Cumberlege, entitled 'First Do No Harm', which was published on 8 July 2020. <BR /> <BR />The aim of a medical devices information system is to improve the safety and standards of medical devices by ensuring that better information can be captured and shared on implanted devices in order to identify much earlier the risks posed by specific devices. The medical devices information system will provide critical benefits to patients who have been or will be implanted with medical devices.”
“Members agreed legislative consent to the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill on 16 June. It allows the existing regulatory frameworks for medicines, medical devices, clinical trials and veterinary medicines to be updated or amended by subordinate legislation. The need for a further legislative consent motion has arisen because of an amendment made to the Bill at the House of Commons Report stage on a medical devices information system and, more recently, government amendments agreed at the House of Lords Committee stage concerning human and veterinary medicines. I will now expand on those areas in more detail. <BR /> <BR />A government amendment to the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill was made during the Commons Report stage on 23 June 2020.”
“I am sure that, if they do not hear them from the Member directly, they will hear them from their departmental staff and advisers. <BR /> <BR />We all have a responsibility to help to curb the spread of the virus. We do that by maintaining social distancing and good hand and respiratory hygiene; wearing face coverings; self-isolating immediately if we experience any symptoms, including a new persistent cough, a fever or a loss or change of smell or taste; seeking a test if we experience any of those symptoms; downloading the StopCOVID NI app; and complying with the restrictions. By following the advice as we go about our daily lives, we can protect ourselves and others from serious illness, protect our health service and our economy and help to avoid further prolonged and more stringent restrictions.”
“Healthcare workers across the healthcare family, should they be our GPs, community pharmacies, nurses, doctors, porters, cleaners or canteen workers, all play a part in our tackling of this dreadful pandemic and this dreadful virus. Hope comes with the opportunities that a vaccine and mass testing may bring, but we still need to get through these next few days, weeks and months while the virus is still with us. <BR /> <BR />The last contributor, Dr Aiken, made a number of calls to the Minister for the Economy and the Minister of Education. I am sure that those Ministers will hear those calls.”
“I assure you that, if I had 20/20 vision, 11 January would have been a different day in here. <BR /> <BR />Mr McCrossan and my party leader, Dr Aiken, summed up the experiences of the Tracey family. Unfortunately, they are not on their own, as so many families across Northern Ireland have had to endure that suffering. As Mr McCrossan explained, Frank's message should be one for all of us: we should thank our health service and support it to deal with the terrible virus that COVID is. I thank Members for their acknowledgement of the dedication of our healthcare workers, who are still having to go the extra mile.”
“Sinéad Bradley asked about communications and whether the money for that is being well spent and how it is spent. The communications budget for COVID sits in the Executive Office and has been utilised to bring forward social media, TV and print adverts. <BR /> <BR />Following up on Mr Sheehan's point, Mr Chambers talked about the hurlers in the ditch, who are often mentioned here. They are the individuals who seem to be able to sit back in comfort and combat COVID-19 with 20/20 vision and the clarity that are provided by educational degrees and qualifications that they received on social media. I only wish that I had the gift and the power to combat COVID-19 and the pandemic in the comfort and security and with the 20/20 vision that many of these people do.”
“I thank the Member for his latitude. If he gives me a week, I would be more than appreciative. I was going to say that setting something out today would be highly challenging given that we are working through these regulations, which came into effect some time ago. I wish I could set the Executive's timetable — if only I could — and I am sure the Member wishes that I could as well. <BR /> <BR />With regard to where we are, Ms Anderson raised the prospect of a vaccine. One thing that I ask is that the House gets behind the delivery of a vaccine and shares the benefit that it will have for the people of Northern Ireland in returning to the normality that we all know and want. I will be back in the House tomorrow afternoon for a debate specifically on that point.”
“Mr Sheehan also asked whether I could set out today what it will look like following 11 December —.”
“It is a sound health message that does not necessarily always have to come from our political leadership, although it is welcome when it comes from that leadership with a united front. However, it is a message that comes from all our healthcare workers, no matter where they are across the system.”
“I have said this many times, and I am echoing Mr Sheehan's comment when he talked about siren voices who seem content with undermining what is a sound health message. That does not come out of just frustration. Sometimes, it comes out of pure bloody-mindedness, Mr Deputy Speaker, if you will excuse my language, because that is what I often get from our front-line healthcare workers when they hear those who are determined to undermine what is a sound health message.”
“<BR /> <BR />Mr Sheehan spoke of the protection of the health and social care system and the realisation that that is the driving force behind these regulations. At present, we have 427 COVID inpatients. In the first wave, our maximum number was 322, so we have over 100 additional COVID patients being supported across our hospitals today. That is the reason for these regulations. Ms Anderson also spoke about the pressures that the healthcare system is under. <BR /> <BR />Queries were raised about time frames and legislative timetables. COVID does not respect any timetable, calendar or plan that we set. If only it did, it would be far easier for me, my health service and the healthcare workers to work with.”
“They are technical amendments that were necessary to correct anomalies and queries that were raised. Sinéad Bradley said it was only when people questioned how the regulations affected their daily lives that we could fine-tune them and have them in place so that, if they are ever needed again, and hopefully they will not be needed again, we will have got over those hurdles. <BR /> <BR />I agree with Mr Middleton that there is a need to move away from the politicisation of this issue. I have been calling for that for some time. He said that, on these issues, all Ministers needed to be heard. I will give way quite happily to any of my ministerial colleagues who want to step in and move any of these regulations in the coming days.”
“I say to the Member that the general public are suffering the regulations so that we can ensure that fewer members of the general public suffer COVID. <BR /> <BR />As regards timing, it is the Assembly's requirement for the input of the Examiner of Statutory Rules and the timing of scrutiny provided by the Health Committee that allow us to set the process. Any process that would bring regulations to the House before that work was completed would meet with equal and opposite complaint. There is a challenge with regard to the speed and detail of some regulations, and it is a challenge that we all want to see rectified and bettered. <BR /> <BR />Ms Bradshaw spoke of the technical nature of the regulations, because that is what they and all the regulations are.”
“As I have often highlighted, the unity of message and purpose coming out of the Executive at this time is more crucial than ever. The Member mentioned the amendment made at the request of the Education Minister in regards to PE in schools. When the regulations were laid, it came to the attention of the Department of Education that the restrictions on sport did not exempt school PE. Until that issue was resolved, the Department of Education advised schools that PE was to be paused. A resolution was provided by these regulations as quickly as possible. It was neither the intention nor the spirit of the regulations to stop PE. <BR /> <BR />Colin McGrath commented on how the regulations were handled and brought forward. He said that the general public were "suffering" under the regulations.”
“<BR /> <BR />Mr Gildernew moved on to comment as a Sinn Féin MLA on the challenges of communication. The Member and I have had many conversations at Committee on the importance of communicating the regulations, why they are necessary and the benefits that they bring in supporting an already overstretched health service. I thank him for his continued stance as Chairperson of the Committee on putting forward out the single, unified message that he and I have been able to achieve: the need for these important regulations. <BR /> <BR />In response to comments made by Pam Cameron, the Deputy Chair of the Committee, I thank her for her commitment and support and for the role that she continues to play in supporting the health service. She commented on support for businesses and individuals who are going through tough times.”
“For that reason, I will respond to a number of questions raised by Members during the debate. <BR /> <BR />Comments were made by the Committee Chair on the policy development of the regulations. I have had useful conversations with him. The amendments are led by policy asks from other Departments and Ministers. We follow those up and attempt to put them into regulations that are not only understandable but legally enforceable. <BR /> <BR />There are challenging equality issues within these regulations. We all recognise that, in normal situations, I would not bring them forward. It is about seeking a balance of detail and proportionality. The Member also made a comment about the benefits that face coverings bring to post-primary and home-to -school transport.”
“I had written in my notes, "Mr Speaker", then "Mr Principal Deputy Speaker" and then "Mr Deputy Speaker". You are the third one in the Chair since we started the debate, Mr Deputy Speaker. <BR /> <BR />I am grateful to Members for their contribution to the debate. I appreciate the degree of goodwill that the Assembly shows to this unusual process whereby the role of legislative scrutiny is applied only after the event. Nevertheless, it is important that scrutiny takes place in order that Members can examine and comment on the measures that have been taken. <BR /> <BR />In the current context, things move fast. The observations and concerns of Members are taken on board as we develop policy and work on the next set of amendments. The public must have confidence that the Executive are not acting without scrutiny.”