(Con):...This is
far too wide, and the focus of international arrangements should
in the first instance be applied to Britain’s 13 overseas territories, far-flung as they
are—some in the Falklands and the Galapagos, as the noble and
learned Lord, , stated—but the closest of
which is Gibraltar: close to us and close to Europe. Ninety-six
per cent of Gibraltarians voted to remain in the EU, and our
focus should be to ensure reciprocal healthcare for those
overseas countries for which we have responsibility. Post Brexit,
whatever the arrangements are, we can then think about the wider
international arrangements; but for now, we should focus on the
areas for which we have responsibility.
I hope that my noble friend can provide assurances as to how best
to protect the overseas territories in the event of no
deal and give further consideration to what the Government intend
“international arrangements” to cover...
(Con):...I
would hope, regardless of whether we were leaving the European
Union or not, that we would want to have these kind of agreements
with our partner countries throughout the world. Regardless of
one’s views on Brexit, we ought to want to do that. It is not
something that we have the legal basis to do at the moment and
the Bill gives us that. I want to correct the impression given by
the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, which I do not think is fair,
that this is somehow a Trojan horse for some sort of nefarious
agenda. That is absolutely not the case; it is about taking a
broader view of the kind of relationships that we currently enjoy
with the EU and want to enjoy with other countries, whether they
are Commonwealth partners or the overseas territories and Crown
dependencies noted by my noble friend ...
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of
Health and Social Care (Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford)
(Con):...I have heard the concerns raised today and at
Second Reading regarding the global scope of the powers and I
will explain why the Government have drafted the Bill in this
way. We believe that the reciprocal healthcare arrangements that
we enjoy with EU member states are a positive and beneficial
policy. This view has been supported in today’s debate, and by
both Houses. It has broad public and clinical support. Indeed,
the EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee of this House remarked in
its Brexit: Reciprocal Healthcare report:
“Reciprocal healthcare oils the wheels of the day-to-day lives of
millions of citizens”,
and the arrangements,
“bring greatest benefit to some of the most vulnerable members of
our society”.
In addition, we already have reciprocal healthcare agreements
with non-EU countries such as Australia and New Zealand, other
European countries such as the Balkan states, and the
British overseas territories. These often pre-date the
EU and have never been limited to Europe...
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