Blood Safety and Quality (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Lord Scriven Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Scriven (LD)]

I too thank the Minister for presenting the statutory instruments. I will speak in particular to the blood safety and quality regulations. These are clearly very important and, as we get closer to the date by which a deal was meant to have been arrived at and there is not one, they become even more important, particularly given the shelf life of blood.

I will follow on from what the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, said. Standards in Northern Ireland are linked to the EU and will continue to be linked to the EU under the agreement. For Great Britain, divergence can take place. I note that the Minister said it was a floor and not a ceiling, but sometimes the floor can fall in, even with small changes—for example, on the storage of blood. So how will the Government ensure that divergence does not mean that standards will change before they come before Parliament and are passed into law, which could mean that the supply of blood becomes slower than is operationally required?

I note that 6.5% of plasma is imported from the EU to the UK. Can the Minister confirm what arrangements have been made to ensure that that plasma will continue to be available to those in GB—and speedily? If we go to a no-deal arrangement, what arrangements are there and what discussions have been had with the EU with regard to our position on getting this supply of plasma? Will it change if we are a third country? I seek exactly the same assurances on the supply of blood for patients with rare diseases who require imported blood and blood components. What arrangements have been made to ensure that the supply and standards remain the same over a period of time?

If the EU brings in new technical updates, what processes for Great Britain will be in place and how will they be linked to future EU standards? What proactive work will take place, or will we have to reactively change if the EU changes its standards and is seen to diverge?

It is clear that the arrangements on this seem certain—but only if the GB Government decide not to diverge at any point. I want assurances in particular on that, but also with regard to supply. In the House of Commons debate at the time of the 2019 regulations, the Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care stated very clearly that the fast-tracking of shipments at ports and alternative routes were being prepared. Have those now been prepared and, if they have, what arrangements are in place for the fast-tracking of shipments at ports and alternative routes for the supply of blood into the UK, Northern Ireland and GB?