Contributions
485 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEU–UK Partnership CouncilMy Lords, I very much agree with the thrust of the question of the noble Baroness. I think it is well known that we have wanted to get the Horizon arrangements up and running for…16 Dec 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Supply of MedicinesMy Lords, that might indeed be a solution; it has not been part of the discussions so far, and I think that the regulators on both sides guard their discretion closely and the…09 Dec 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Supply of MedicinesMy noble friend is absolutely right that in an area as technical and complicated as this, it is obviously essential that we have full access to all the detail, all the potential…09 Dec 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Supply of MedicinesMy Lords, as I said in answer to an earlier question, medicines are a special case of the general issue of supply of goods into Northern Ireland. As the protocol covers that…09 Dec 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Supply of MedicinesMy Lords, it is well known by now that I was the Minister who negotiated this agreement; it is also well known that the agreement required careful handling, which it has not…09 Dec 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Supply of MedicinesMy Lords, there are a number of difficulties in this highly technical area of the supply of medicines. We have been looking at the proposals made by the Commission. The problem…09 Dec 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Supply of MedicinesMy Lords, we are well aware of that aspect; we are well aware that the protocol is not working for the people of Northern Ireland. There are societal and economic difficulties,…09 Dec 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Supply of MedicinesMy noble friend is absolutely right to raise this important aspect of the question. Although veterinary medicines are part of the general discussions that we are having with the…09 Dec 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Supply of MedicinesMy Lords, I very much agree with the question posed by my noble friend. There is obviously an obligation on this Government, as on any other, to provide medicines throughout the…09 Dec 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Supply of MedicinesMy Lords, I repeat that the Government will not allow there to be any disruption to supply of medicines to Northern Ireland; that is an absolute obligation on us. Of course,…09 Dec 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Supply of MedicinesMy Lords, we would love to find an agreement if one were available. We think that the proposal that we made to take medicines out of the protocol entirely would be the simplest…09 Dec 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Supply of MedicinesMy Lords, the grace period formally expires at the end of this year, but we are also in a standstill agreed between the two sides in July that keeps current arrangements running.…09 Dec 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland: Supply of MedicinesMy Lords, the people of Northern Ireland must have access to the full range of medicines available to people elsewhere in the UK. We are currently in intensive discussions with…09 Dec 2021HANSARDIreland/Northern Ireland: Solid FuelsMy Lords, we do not wish to inflame tensions in any way, of course, and I do not think we go about this in a way that would do that. The point that I and other noble Lords have…18 Nov 2021HANSARDIreland/Northern Ireland: Solid FuelsMy Lords, my noble friend makes a very good point. We have been concerned about the threats made against us in the last few weeks, which are not really consistent with a…18 Nov 2021HANSARDIreland/Northern Ireland: Solid FuelsMy Lords, my noble friend makes a very good point, as always. It is a concrete case that demonstrates that it is possible to manage these matters in other ways. This is one of the…18 Nov 2021HANSARDIreland/Northern Ireland: Solid FuelsMy Lords, there has indeed always been some complexity in interpretations of this matter. It is certainly true that in areas such as red diesel, for example, where there is a need…18 Nov 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: EU NegotiationsMy Lords, our interest, and the way that I am pursuing these negotiations, is the interest of everyone in Northern Ireland, and of the prosperity and stability of everyone in…18 Nov 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: EU NegotiationsMy Lords, the noble Baroness is of course correct that I said on Wednesday that a Statement would be made in the other place in due course and that it was made in the way that she…18 Nov 2021HANSARDIreland/Northern Ireland: Solid FuelsMy Lords, the Cabinet and the Government stand fully behind the policy that we set out in the Command Paper in July, which is a very good compromise policy that we still hope to…18 Nov 2021