Baroness Wilcox of Newport
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Covid-19: Devolved Administrations
Baroness Wilcox of Newport Excerpts(4 years ago)
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Lord True (Con)
My Lords, the noble Baroness makes a very important point. It is obviously within the wider construct, which is that it is vital that young children secure education at the most formative stage of their lives—I think that there is broad agreement on that. Regarding the very important specific issue that she raised, as she knows, there is constant discussion between the chief medical officers of the four devolved Administrations, and I will ensure that her question is brought to the attention of all those involved.
Baroness Wilcox of Newport (Lab) [V]
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble and learned friend Lord Morris of Aberavon for securing this important Private Notice Question. In recent months, we have seen increasing divergence in the approaches taken across the four nations of the UK. We welcome the recent agreement regarding restrictions over the Christmas period and hope that it represents the beginning of a shift in the Government’s relationships with the devolved Administrations in relation to the pandemic and, indeed, other issues. Can the Minister confirm what, if any, new structures will be put in place to formalise dialogue and data exchange across the four nations as we move into the new year and the next—and, I hope, final—phase in the fight against this awful disease?
Lord True (Con)
My Lords, I repeat what I said before. There is a public health responsibility, which is devolved, and obviously decisions are taken by the devolved Administrations on how they wish to apply and use those powers. As I indicated, a network of co-operation exists: I gave the example of over 20 calls involving my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the senior Ministers involved in the devolved Administrations, and the CMOs meet regularly. Christmas has been a good example, but we must work within the devolved structure and in line with how all those involved choose to operate it.