Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the debate on Public Health emergency: the need for a holistic approach to multilateralism and health care at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 20 June 2023.

No assessment has been made on this debate at this point, but we continue to work closely with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office on global health issues and governance raised in the relevant debate discussed including negotiations on the targeted amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) and the new Pandemic Instrument at the World Health Organization and in preparation for the High Level Meetings at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The United Kingdom continues to negotiate the text of the Pandemic Instrument and the amendments to the IHR to ensure they delivers on our priorities and provide the tools to achieve improvements globally in key areas of health emergency preparedness, prevention, and response. The Department of Health and Social Care also works closely with the Department for Business and Trade on health related issues linked to the World Trade Organization.