Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report by the Office for National Statistics on covid-19 deaths by occupation in England and Wales, published on 25 January 2021, if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care the potential merits of classifying food production staff as a priority group for the second phase of the covid-19 vaccination rollout.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Government has decided that the vaccine delivery plan should prioritise preventing mortality, by directly protecting those most at risk of death and hospitalisation. With this direction, the Joint Committee for Vaccines and Immunisation (JVCI) has been tasked with putting forward advice on prioritisation. This will carefully consider the arguments for prioritising sectors within the overall goal around health outcomes. We will ensure Defra sectors, including food production workers, are fully considered in this process.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union judgment on the Privacy International case (C-623/17), what steps he is taking to ensure that data collection by UK (a) law enforcement agencies and (b) national security and intelligence agencies complies with EU data protection standards.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The CJEU Judgement of 6 October 2020 relates to a previous power, Section 94 Directions under the Telecommunications Act 1984, that has since been replaced by provisions in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA). The IPA sets strict requirements of necessity and proportionality for the use of these powers, and provides significant safeguards and independent oversight. All warrants permitting the use of these powers are subject to the ‘double lock’ safeguard requiring that an independent Judicial Commissioner approve the Secretary of State’s decision before the warrant is issued. This ‘double lock’ ensures that the UK has one of the strongest oversight regimes anywhere in the world.
The Judgment will now be referred back to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal for interpretation for domestic law purposes.
The UK is committed to maintaining high data protection standards for personal data, and we will continue to be a global leader in ensuring personal data is properly protected.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Public Health England’s findings that people with learning disabilities were three to six times more likely to die from covid-19 than the general population during the first wave of covid-19 was taken into account when developing the vaccine prioritisation policy.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is the independent expert advisory committee which advises the Government on vaccination. The JCVI reviewed data on COVID-19 mortality from OpenSAFELY, QCOVID and Public Health England (PHE). This included the PHE report on mortality in people with learning disabilities.
After consideration of the evidence, the JCVI advised that people with severe and profound learning disabilities and Down’s syndrome should be offered vaccination in the first phase of the programme.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent correspondence his Department has received from the Northern Ireland Office on implementing a disregard for compensation payments made under the Historical Institutional Abuse (Northern Ireland) Act 2019.
Answered by Steve Barclay
My department is aware of the situation regarding Northern Ireland Historic Abuse Payments and how they are treated within the benefit system.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 33 of The Northern Ireland Protocol, CP346, published on 10 December 2020, which categories of trader (a) can and (b) cannot benefit from a grace period to 1 April 2021 from official certification for products of (i) animal origin, (ii) composite products, (iii) food and feed of non-animal origin and (iv) plants and plant products.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
As the Command Paper underlines, the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs will engage in a rapid exercise to identify the authorised traders able to draw on the grace period from official certification for products of animal origin, composite products, food and feed of non-animal origin and plants and plant products. The Government will not discriminate against smaller suppliers or between different companies in implementing these practical measures. This list will be in place by the end of the year.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to correspondence from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee relating to matters raised at the oral evidence session on Wednesday 16 September, dated 11 September 2020, which (a) victims’ groups and (b) individuals he has consulted since that date as part of that period of sensitive engagement with key stakeholders, and on which dates those meetings took place.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and officials from the Northern Ireland Office regularly meet representatives from civic society, including victims groups, community representatives, religious leaders and individuals from across academia and the peace and reconciliation sector. Engagement on the subject of legacy is ongoing.
The Government is committed to publishing details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations on a quarterly basis. Publications for the Northern Ireland Office can be found on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for North Dorset during his oral statement on 30 November 2020, Official Report, column 59, on what date stakeholder engagement on forthcoming legacy legislation was paused by his Department; and on what date this engagement was resumed.
Answered by Robin Walker
In the Spring, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and officials met a number of victims groups and other key stakeholders to discuss legacy issues. Following these discussions, it was clear that the full and sensitive engagement required on this difficult subject would be difficult to deliver effectively while the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic were ongoing.
Notwithstanding this, a degree of engagement has and continues to take place where possible. The Secretary of State remains committed to engaging with all parts of the community in Northern Ireland, including victims groups, in order to make progress on legacy issues.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for North Dorset during his oral statement on 30 November 2020, Official Report, column 59, which civil society (a) organisations and (b) individuals (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in his Department have met as part of the legacy engagement process in each of the last nine months.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and officials from the Northern Ireland Office regularly meet various representatives from civic society, including community representatives, religious leaders and individuals from across academia and the peace and reconciliation sector. Engagement on the specific issue of legacy is ongoing, where possible within the constraints imposed by current circumstances.
The Government is committed to publishing details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations on a quarterly basis. Publications for the Northern Ireland Office can be found on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for Luton South during his oral statement on 30 November 2020, Official Report, column 69, when he plans to bring forward legislation based on the proposals and framework outlined in Written Ministerial Statement HCWS168 published on 18 March.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government has been clear that it will bring forward legislation to address the legacy of the Troubles in a way that focuses on reconciliation, delivers for victims, and ends the cycle of investigations, which has failed victims and veterans alike.
We have also made clear our commitment to working with all parts of the community in Northern Ireland as part of this process. While the challenging circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic have had an impact on our ability to engage effectively and sensitively, we remain determined to make progress on legacy issues as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will publish a list of (a) members of the Board of Trade and (b) trade envoys.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Board is chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board. She is its only standing member. The list of advisers to the Board of Trade is available on GOV.UK.
Regarding Trade Envoys, I refer my Honourable Friend to the answer given to Sir Christopher Chope by my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Chelsea and Fulham (Greg Hands) on 9th November 2020, UIN: 111412.