Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 22 June (HL Deb, col 132) on human rights at sea, when they will write with further details on their vaccination programme for seafarers.

The Department for Transport has advised that Baroness Vere of Norbiton wrote to the noble Lady on 9 July regarding the vaccination programme for seafarers. A copy of this letter is attached. All seafarers are able to access COVID-19 vaccinations, regardless of nationality, providing they meet the eligibility criteria. Officials at the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the Department for Transport to provide clarity on the eligibility of seafarers in the United Kingdom for COVID-19 vaccination.

We are also working with the devolved administrations to ensure that operational challenges in vaccinating these groups are mitigated. The United Kingdom does not restrict access to the COVID-19 vaccine for seafarers who are not resident in the UK. Several local partnerships have been established between port authorities, seafarer welfare services and local National Health Service trusts which have successfully vaccinated several thousand seafarers. This has created protocols such as the provision of permanent or mobile vaccination hubs in or close to major ports.