Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Baroness Rawlings, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Baroness Rawlings has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Baroness Rawlings has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The process to appoint a new Chairman of Historic England is ongoing. An appointment will be made and announced in due course, in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments.
The Range Rover Cars on the Government Car Service (GCS) fleet are plug in hybrid electric vehicles.
(1) Short car journeys taken by ministers will be on electric power only with zero emissions.
(2) These same Range Rover Cars were classified as Ultra Low Emission Vehicles at time of procurement in 2018.
The GCS is continually reviewing fit for purpose vehicles for Ministerial use, and with support from the Department for Transport to meet emission targets for government fleets, the GCS will be replacing cars as they become due for renewal with a continuing focus on replacement vehicles being more environmentally friendly and where possible, using fully electric alternatives.
All authorised medicines and vaccines regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) can be prescribed by a prescribing clinician as a private prescription. However, the decision to place a medicine or vaccine on the private market is a matter for the individual manufacturer. Information on drugs which have received the MHRA’s approval and solely available through the National Health Service is not held centrally.
The pharmaceutical companies producing antivirals have not made these treatments commercially available to the private health care sector in the United Kingdom. These products have been procured by the Department and are only available through the National Health Service.
The Department has agreed contracts with MSD and Pfizer to ensure that the UK has sufficient antiviral medication to treat those who are likely to benefit. There is no legislation which sets out the patient cohorts to receive antiviral treatments for COVID-19. Clinically eligible cohorts have been determined by an independent expert group commissioned by the Department and included in a clinical policy agreed by the UK Chief Medical Officers.
The pharmaceutical companies producing antivirals have not made these treatments commercially available to the private health care sector in the United Kingdom. These products have been procured by the Department and are only available through the National Health Service.
The Department has agreed contracts with MSD and Pfizer to ensure that the UK has sufficient antiviral medication to treat those who are likely to benefit. There is no legislation which sets out the patient cohorts to receive antiviral treatments for COVID-19. Clinically eligible cohorts have been determined by an independent expert group commissioned by the Department and included in a clinical policy agreed by the UK Chief Medical Officers.
We are ensuring that deployment of antiviral treatments is supported by comprehensive data on clinical and cost-effectiveness to ensure healthcare professionals and patients have full confidence in prescribing and receiving these treatments.
The PANORAMIC study was established following a recommendation from an expert clinical panel. The expert panel advised that additional information should be gathered on which patients would benefit most from antiviral treatments in the United Kingdom, given high rates of vaccination. Previous trials have predominantly used unvaccinated participants.
Results for the first antiviral treatment, molnupiravir, are likely to be available in summer 2022, when a decision on clinical access will be made by an expert panel. The second antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, is expected to enter the PANORAMIC study in April 2022.
Molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir + ritonavir (co-packaged as Paxlovid) are available for the treatment of COVID-19 in multiple countries. The Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce is engaging with international organisations and nations to share learning on the use and deployment of therapeutics and antivirals, including molnupiravir and Paxlovid.
Eligibility for oral antivirals has been determined by an independent expert group commissioned by the Department and included in a clinical policy agreed by the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers. This policy is based on evidence that individuals with specific health conditions are more likely to progress to severe disease. In the community, eligible patients have access to oral antivirals through COVID Medicines Delivery Units in England, with equivalent arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In addition, Paxlovid is available to eligible patients who contract COVID-19 whilst in hospital. We are continuing to monitor international use and administration of these treatments to inform the clinical policy.
As of 28 March 2022, the number of patients currently in hospital with COVID-19 is 17,685. A range of treatments are available to these patients, including antivirals. Eligible patients admitted to hospital for reasons not related to COVID-19 and subsequently test positive are able to access nirmatrelvir + ritonavir (Paxlovid), an oral antiviral treatment or remdesivir, an intravenous antiviral. For patients whose immune system means they are at higher risk of COVID-19, the antiviral treatments molnupiravir, nirmatrelvir + ritonavir and remdesivir are available in the community to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death.
Approximately 120,000 treatments have been provided in England, of which 53,000 were antivirals administered to hospitalised patients. The data requested on the average time for patients receiving antivirals to be cured is not held centrally.
The Government has secured 4.98 million patient courses of oral antiviral treatments. As a result, there are supplies of oral antivirals molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir+ritonavir held in the United Kingdom with regular deliveries to ensure sufficient treatment for patients. These are available to eligible patients in the community at highest risk of developing severe disease through COVID Medicines Delivery Units in England and equivalent arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In addition, nirmatrelvir + ritonavir is available to eligible patients who contract COVID-19 whilst in hospital.
We continue to monitor clinical trial results to understand which patient cohorts may benefit from oral antivirals, including the PANORAMIC national study. The results will inform our understanding of the performance of oral antivirals where the majority of the population is vaccinated and future decisions on patient access in the UK.
The decision was made by NHS England and NHS Improvement prior to December 2021, when the first COVID Medicine Delivery Units were launched. Any decisions on the longer-term deployment of COVID-19 treatments beyond the highest risk groups will be subject to the outcomes of the PANORAMIC study on the effectiveness of antivirals in the United Kingdom population.
The supply of COVID-19 oral antivirals is not yet commercially available, with the current United Kingdom stocks held by the Government. As there is no commercial supply of antivirals, private physicians are not able to prescribe antivirals to non-hospitalised patients.
Eligibility for treatments for non-hospitalised patients at highest risk following infection with COVID-19 is set out in a United Kingdom-wide clinical access policy agreed by the Government’s Chief Medical Officer. This policy provides four treatment options; an intravenous monoclonal antibody; an intravenous antiviral; and two oral antiviral options. The decision on the choice of treatment is led by the prescribing clinician who will consider the relative effectiveness of the medicines and the suitability for the individual patient. The intravenous treatments are typically provided in a hospital clinic setting and the oral treatments can usually be sent to the patient’s home or collected on the patient’s behalf from a named pharmacy.
Due to the current range of treatment options available, the targeted cohort of patients receiving treatment - many of whom will be managing health conditions with the support of hospital specialists - and the need to carefully manage available supply, approximately 100 COVID Medicine Delivery Units in England offer an integrated triage and treatment service. COVID-19 treatments within the UK are only available to eligible patients following a clinical assessment and are provided free of charge. These treatments cannot currently be purchased as an over-the-counter medicine. Any decisions on the longer-term deployment of COVID-19 treatments beyond the highest risk groups will be subject to the outcomes of the PANORAMIC study on the effectiveness of antivirals in the UK population.
Community pharmacies dispense prescriptions issued by general practice. COVID-19 treatments, including the oral antiviral treatments molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid), are not currently available for general practice prescribing. In England, these treatments are prescribed by a clinician within a COVID Medicine Delivery Unit. Where an oral antiviral treatment is prescribed, this can be collected from a named pharmacy usually in a hospital, or alternatively sent directly to the patient’s home.
Community pharmacies are not able to stock and sell COVID-19 treatments, including molnupiravir or PF-07321332+ritonavir, co-packaged as Paxlovid. Updates on accessing these medications will be provided in due course.
Molnupiravir and PF-07321332+ritonavir (co-packaged as Paxlovid) are currently available for eligible National Health Service patients through COVID Medicines Delivery Units (CMDUs). Eligible patients who receive a positive COVID-19 test result will be contacted by a clinician from a CMDU to discuss what treatments could be suitable for them.
For those patients not already exempt from prescription charges, we have announced that antiviral medicines prescribed via CMDUs will be supplied free of charge until 31 March 2022. This is supported by Regulation 13 of The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations 2015.
A pilot scheme tests a policy before it becomes operational to identify any delivery challenges and how these can be overcome ahead of wider deployment. A pilot is limited in its delivery by time period, volume, context or geography, or any combination of these. Within NHS Test and Trace there have been 158 pilot schemes.
The Events Research Programme (ERP) is a single cross-Government programme which ran a number of event pilots. It aims to examine the risk of transmission of COVID-19 from attendance at events to enable people to attend a range of events safely. The programme is exploring how a combination of testing and non-pharmaceutical interventions or actions that people can take to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, can inform decisions on safely lifting restrictions at events. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is currently leading the ERP, which has conducted 42 pilot events within the programme.
Trials are put in place to identify solutions to a specific research question. They are run within formal research governance and are listed on an open science platform, available to the scientific community. The outcomes of trials are prepared for peer-reviewed publications. Information on the number of all such COVID-19 trials is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Crown servants and Government contractors, which includes civil servants must quarantine in a managed facility or in their own accommodation, depending on the ‘traffic light’ allocation of the country they departed from or transited through in the 10 days before arrival in the United Kingdom. This applies unless a relevant Government department has certified that they are not required to do so and the traveller is:
- a Crown servant or Government contractor travelling to the UK for essential Government work or returning from such work outside the UK; or
- returning from conducting essential state business outside of the UK; or
- returning to the UK where this is necessary to facilitate the functioning of a diplomatic mission or consular post of Her Majesty or of a military/other official posting on behalf of Her Majesty.
Civil servants meeting the first two of these eligibility criteria may also be exempt from the mandatory post-arrival testing requirements. Some civil servants who are conducting essential border work or essential defence activities are also exempt from the requirement to complete a Passenger Locator Form, as well as quarantine and travel testing requirements. While all social distancing restrictions are no longer mandated, the legal duty to self-isolate when notified by NHS Test and Trace remains in place applies to civil servants as to the wider public.
All polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are validated centrally and verified locally as a minimum prior to use. The results of the validation and verification are reviewed by independent subject matter experts in the field prior to laboratories testing individuals’ samples with the assays. PCR tests in all laboratories are subject to an enhanced variant of concern assurance program, facilitated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NHS Test and Trace.
National Health Service tests cannot be used for travel in order to preserve existing testing capacity to protect public health. Since requirements were introduced for international travel testing, the costs of testing have fallen significantly. We are committed to working with the travel industry and private providers to reduce the cost of travel testing and we have made NHS Test and Trace tests available at the market mid-point.
A list of private providers used for testing purposes is attached, due to the size of the data. Some organisations which have self-declared that they meet the Government’s minimum standards for the type of testing service they offer have opted out from publication of their details of the Government’s centrally held list.
Decisions on whether medicines are funded by the National Health Service are taken by clinical commissioning groups and there is a requirement to fund drugs recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Where a drug is funded by the NHS there is no charge to the patient other than the prescription charge, from 1 April 2021 £9.35 per prescription item in England, that applies to medicines dispensed in the community. Around 89% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge due to the extensive list of prescription charge exemptions. Since 1968, the only change to the list of medical exemption criteria was the introduction of the exemption for people undergoing cancer treatment in 2009, including the effects of cancer, or the effects of current or previous cancer treatment.
As a result of changes implemented under The Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc.) Act 2019 all marriages in England and Wales are registered in an electronic register by a registrar for the district in which the marriage took place rather than in hard copy registers.
The Church of England were fully involved in the development of this policy, including direct engagement with Home Office Ministers. The Church of England has been supportive of the move to an electronic system of registration, including the move to include Mothers on Marriage Certificates as part of this.
Decisions on prosecution is a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service, based on evidence provided to them by law enforcement agencies, including the Police.
On the question of fines, data on the Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued under the COVID-19 regulations by police forces in England and Wales is published by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) on a monthly basis and can be found on the NPCC website.
The latest publication from 28th June 2021 can be found here and displays a list of the reasons for FPNs being processed:
https://cdn.prgloo.com/media/fefef3f0ea8241018b9bda2d33fa95be.pdf
The table below provides the status of all courts closed since 2015, shown by the jurisdictions as requested.
Name | Jurisdiction Closed | Date of Closure | Disposal Status |
2015 | |||
Chesterfield County Court | County | 31/10/2015 | Disposed |
Harrogate County Court | County/Family | 30/09/2015 | Disposed |
Hereford County Court | County/Family | 31/12/2015 | Disposed |
2016 | |||
Accrington County Court | County | 31/03/2016 | Disposed |
Accrington Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 31/03/2016 | Disposed |
Aldershot & Farnham County Court | County/Family | 31/01/2016 | Disposed |
Aylesbury Magistrates and County Court | Combined | 30/09/2016 | Building retained as Aylesbury Crown Court |
Barnstaple Magistrates' and County Court (Crown part only) | Crown part only | 30/06/2016 | Building retained as Barnstable Magistrates, County and Family Court |
Brecon Law Courts | Combined | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Bridgend Law Courts | Combined | 29/07/2016 | Disposed |
Burton upon Trent Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Bury St Edmunds Crown & Magistrates' Court | Combined | 07/10/2016 | Disposed |
Buxton Magistrates' & County Court | Combined | 30/06/2016 | Disposed |
Caerphilly Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/05/2016 | Disposed |
Carmarthen Law Courts (The Guildhall) | Combined | 27/05/2016 | Disposed |
Consett Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 29/07/2016 | Disposed |
Corby Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 01/07/2016 | Disposed |
Dartford Magistrates' Court | Magistrate/Family | 03/05/2016 | Disposed |
Dolgellau Crown & Magistrates' Court | Combined | 25/08/2016 | Disposed |
Doncaster County Court | County/Family | 03/05/2016 | Disposed |
Dorchester Crown Court (Weymouth & Dorchester Combined) | Combined | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Fareham Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Feltham Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Gloucester Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 09/12/2016 | Disposed |
Grantham Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/06/2016 | Disposed |
Greenwich Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 27/05/2016 | Disposed |
Halifax County Court | County | 02/12/2016 | Disposed |
Halifax Magistrates' Court (Calderdale) | Magistrate/Family | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Hammersmith Magistrates' and County Court (County Court Only) | County part only | 24/06/2016 | Disposed |
Hinckley Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 31/07/2016 | Disposed |
Kettering Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/06/2016 | Disposed |
King's Lynn County Court | County | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Lowestoft Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Macclesfield County Court | County | 29/07/2016 | Disposed |
Macclesfield Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Morpeth & Berwick County Court | County | 30/05/2016 | Disposed |
Neath and Port Talbot Civil and Family Court | Combined | 29/07/2016 | Disposed |
Oldham Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Ormskirk Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 28/06/2016 | Disposed |
Pontypridd Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 29/07/2016 | Disposed |
Prestatyn Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 15/08/2016 | Building retained as Prestatyn Justice Centre |
Rhyl County Court | County | 04/11/2016 | Disposed |
Richmond Upon Thames Magistrates’ Court | Magistrate | 18/03/2016 | Disposed |
Rotherham Magistrates' & County Court | Combined | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Sandwell Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Shrewsbury Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 31/03/2016 | Building retained as Shrewsbury Crown Court |
Skegness Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Solihull Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 31/03/2016 | Disposed |
St Helens Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 24/06/2016 | Building retained as St Helens County and Family Court |
Stroud Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Swansea Crown Court (Guildhall) | Crown | 27/05/2016 | Disposed |
Tameside Magistrates' & County Court (County Part Only) | County part only | 30/06/2016 | Building retained as Tameside Magistrates’ Court |
Trafford Magistrates' Court & Altrincham County Court | Combined | 30/06/2016 | Disposed |
Tunbridge Wells County Court | County/Family | 09/12/2016 | Disposed |
Wakefield & Pontefract Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 26/09/2016 | Disposed |
Waltham Forest Magistrates’ Court | Magistrate | 30/03/2016 | Disposed |
Warrington Combined Court (County Part Only) | County part only | 30/09/2016 | Building retained as Warrington Crown Court |
West Berkshire Magistrates' Court (Newbury) | Magistrate | 24/06/2016 | Disposed |
Weymouth & Dorchester Combined Court (Westwey House) | Combined | 25/04/2016 | Disposed |
Worksop Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 31/03/2016 | Disposed |
Yate Magistrates' Court (North Avon) | Magistrate | 30/09/2016 | Disposed |
Yeovil County Court | County | 25/11/2016 | Disposed |
2017 | |||
Bicester Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 19/05/2017 | Disposed |
Bolton Combined Court Centre (County Part Only) | County part only | 09/06/2017 | Building retained as Bolton Law Courts |
Bolton Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/11/2017 | Disposed |
Bournemouth Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 27/01/2017 | Disposed |
Bow County Court | County/Family | 30/06/2017 | Disposed |
Bury Magistrates' & County Court | Combined | 09/06/2017 | Disposed |
Caernarfon Civil and Family Court | County/Family | 18/08/2017 | Disposed |
Chichester Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 02/06/2017 | Awaiting disposal |
Dover Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 26/05/2017 | Disposed |
Eastbourne Magistrates' & County Court | Magistrates/Family | 29/09/2017 | Disposed |
Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court | Magistrate | 31/12/2017 | Disposed |
Hartlepool Magistrates' & County Court | Combined/Family | 30/01/2017 | Awaiting disposal |
Holyhead Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 28/04/2017 | Disposed |
Kendal Magistrates' & County Court | Combined | 30/06/2017 | Disposed |
Kettering County Court | County | 07/07/2017 | Disposed |
Lambeth County Court | County/Family | 22/12/2017 | Disposed |
Lancaster County Court | County/Family | 01/12/2017 | Disposed |
Llangefni Civil and Family Court | County/Family | 18/08/2017 | Disposed |
Oldham County Court | County/Family | 14/07/2017 | Disposed |
Redhill Magistrates' & Reigate County Court | Combined | 31/03/2017 | Disposed |
Runcorn (Halton) Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 13/01/2017 | Disposed |
Scunthorpe Magistrates' & County Court | Combined | 13/01/2017 | Awaiting disposal |
St Albans Crown & County Court (County Part Only) | County part only | 28/07/2017 | Building retained as St Albans Crown Court |
Stafford Magistrates' Court | Magistrate/Family | 28/04/2017 | Disposed |
Telford County Court | County/Family | 29/09/2017 | Currently being used as a temporary Nightingale Court |
Torquay Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 01/09/2017 | Awaiting disposal |
Tottenham Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 10/02/2017 | Disposed |
Warrington Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 13/01/2017 | Disposed |
Watford Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 28/07/2017 | Disposed |
Woolwich County Court | County/Family | 30/06/2017 | Disposed |
2018 | |||
Birmingham Magistrates' Youth Court | Magistrate/Youth | 31/01/2018 | Disposed |
Chichester Combined Court | Combined | 28/12/2018 | Awaiting disposal |
Chippenham Magistrates' & Civil Court | Combined/Family | 27/07/2018 | Disposed |
Maidenhead Magistrates’ Court | Magistrate | 31/12/2018 | Awaiting disposal |
Sunderland County Court | County/Family | 07/09/2018 | Awaiting disposal |
2019 | |||
Banbury Magistrates’ and County Court | Combined | 31/03/2019 | Disposed |
Blackfriars Crown Court | Crown | 20/12/2019 | Disposed |
Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 31/01/2020 | Disposed |
Chorley Magistrates’ Court | Magistrate | 29/03/2019 | Awaiting disposal |
Colchester County Court | County/Family | 30/04/2019 | Disposed |
Fleetwood Magistrates’ Court (currently sitting as a Family Hearing Centre) | Magistrate/Family | 26/04/2019 | Currently being used as a temporary Nightingale Court |
Harlow Magistrates' Court | Magistrate | 30/04/2019 | Awaiting disposal |
Northallerton Magistrates' Court | Magistrate/Family | 30/04/2019 | Disposed |
Shrewsbury Crown Court | Crown | 08/03/2019 | Disposed |
Southend County Court | County/Family | 06/09/2019 | Disposed |
Disposed = The property has either been sold, or our tenancy has ended. The property is no longer part of the HMCTS estate.
Awaiting disposal = The property is closed and disposal is pending.
Ensuring that we can operate safely during the Covid-19 pandemic is our top priority. We have put in place measures in our court rooms so that they can hold Covid-19 secure trials, moved to virtual hearings where possible and opened additional court rooms in Nightingale courts as part of a package to increase available capacity.
We have now opened Nightingale courts at 21 locations, including the use of former court buildings, bringing the total number of temporary court rooms set up nationwide to 40. These additional temporary courtrooms have allowed us to increase capacity, particularly for jury trials, in locations where there is an operational requirement and hold additional hearings within a safe environment.