Committee
Health and Sport Committee 23 March 2021
23 Mar 2021 · S5 · Health and Sport Committee
Item of business
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
Health Security (EU Exit) Regulations 2021
I will try to answer as fully as I can, but if there is further information that you want on the back of that, I would be happy to provide it to the committee in writing. The committees that will be established will not be able to replicate the full intelligence-gathering capability of the ECDC, because the ECDC draws on all member states for its information and intelligence. However, the explicit intention of the framework is to maintain the system of co-operation across the United Kingdom, which, as I mentioned in my opening statement, EU law created almost by default. By doing that, we will be able to ensure that the UK has a strong system of intelligence and data sharing and that the UK can meet its obligations under the trade and co-operation agreement with the EU as well as its obligations under the international health regulations. Meeting those obligations is vital, because they are the means by which we will still be able to gain access, albeit on a case-by-case basis, to the EU early warning and response system. It is also a key tool in the development of the memorandum of understanding with the ECDC. As I said in my previous response, the Scottish Government’s view is that we would rather not be in this situation and would have preferred to continue as full members of the EU, which is the best way to secure full access. We have to do everything that we can to maintain that access by other means. The framework and, in particular, the regulations that are before the committee are the best means for us to do that at this stage.
In the same item of business
The Convener (Lewis Macdonald)
Lab
Good morning, and welcome to the 11th meeting of the Health and Sport Committee in 2021. We have received apologies from Donald Cameron. Emma Harper will joi...
The Minister for Public Health and Sport (Mairi Gougeon)
SNP
I am pleased to be here today to answer the committee’s questions on the Health Security (EU Exit) Regulations 2021, to which Scottish ministers have been as...
The Convener
Lab
You touched on the relationship between the regulations and the public health protection and health security common framework. You will be aware that the com...
Mairi Gougeon
When we set out the technical summary of the framework outline agreement in December last year, we expected the framework to be available for scrutiny early ...
The Convener
Lab
That is welcome. I have no doubt that our successor committee will pursue the same approach as we have pursued in relation to the framework. After initial co...
Mairi Gougeon
Absolutely. That will be the case in much the same way as has been possible for frameworks that the committee has looked at previously and which I have appea...
The Convener
Lab
That is helpful.
David Torrance (Kirkcaldy) (SNP)
SNP
Given the divergence among the four UK nations on management of the Covid-19 pandemic, how confident are you that the framework agreement and its related con...
Mairi Gougeon
The aim of the framework and the regulations is to ensure co-operation and co-ordination among the Governments and health agencies in the UK. In some matters...
David Torrance
SNP
Have discussions about the common framework with the other devolved Administrations and the UK Government covered learning from the pandemic? Have they inclu...
Mairi Gougeon
Over the past couple of years, our discussions have been wide ranging. The impacts of Covid-19 have informed them, but it is fair to say that that is likely ...
Sandra White (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP)
SNP
You mentioned in your opening statement that health security is a devolved matter; you referred to it in answer to the convener’s questions. You mentioned th...
Mairi Gougeon
SNP
Yes, I am. I reassure members that, as I said, the framework builds on the strong co-ordination that we have with the other Administrations and public health...
Sandra White
SNP
Obviously, the statutory instrument comes in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Have there been full discussions on how non-infectious health threats, such ...
Mairi Gougeon
SNP
Work on the framework started two years ago prior to the pandemic, so it has been designed as a vehicle to tackle a wide range of threats. In essence, it tak...
David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Lab
My questions are on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The minister will be well aware of the important job that that organisation has d...
Mairi Gougeon
SNP
Ideally, we would not have had to develop frameworks and consider the issues. For the Scottish Government, the ideal situation would have been that we had ma...
David Stewart
Lab
Yesterday, in preparing for today’s meeting, I had a careful look at ECDC budgets and at its staffing, which I will perhaps come to in a second. As you will ...
Mairi Gougeon
SNP
I will try to answer as fully as I can, but if there is further information that you want on the back of that, I would be happy to provide it to the committe...
David Stewart
Lab
I am sorry, convener, but may I press the minister on the final question?
The Convener
Lab
Yes.
David Stewart
Lab
Have new budgets or staff been identified to cover the huge areas of responsibility that the ECDC covers?
Mairi Gougeon
SNP
The regulations will set up a number of groups, such as the UK health protection committee and the UK health protection oversight group. There will be equal ...
The Convener
Lab
I invite Laura McGlynn to indicate whether she can add anything.
Laura McGlynn (Scottish Government)
The discussion about budgets has not been had yet because the work has been about drawing up the framework and drafting the regulations. As the minister said...
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I want to look at the power to amend the list of communicable diseases and special health-related issues. The existing list is to be replicated in the regula...
Mairi Gougeon
SNP
The regulations do not make provision for that, but they do provide the routes by which the list can be amended. I expect the UK health protection committee ...
Brian Whittle
Con
Can you clarify that? I want to be sure that, if decisions are to be made about changes to the list, the intention is that all the devolved nations will be i...
Mairi Gougeon
SNP
As I said, the UK health protection committee will determine the criteria. The committee is made up of representatives from all the devolved nations as well ...
Brian Whittle
Con
Finally, you suggest that the criteria have yet to be decided. I assume that we will want to replicate the existing EU law criteria, given that the EU law wi...