Extract from Health and
Social Care questions: International Health
Regulations
(Tatton) (Con)
18. What recent progress he has made in negotiations with the
World Health Organisation on proposed amendments to the
International Health Regulations 2005.
The Minister for Health and Secondary Care ()
The UK continues to negotiate on amendments, alongside other
member states of the World Health Organisation. We want to ensure
that the International Health Regulations are effective in
preventing and responding to potential health threats, leaving
the UK better prepared for future health emergencies. We
anticipate negotiations to continue until the 77th World Health
Assembly in May next year.
Will the Minister assure me that the proposed changes to the
International Health Regulations being negotiated will not give
new rule-making powers, such as those tabled by Bangladesh
to the WHO director general to make binding directions on matters
including border closures, quarantining and vaccine passports?
Even the WHO’s own expert review committee has raised concerns
over such significant increases in power.
As my right hon. Friend will know, the UK has a strong commitment
and duty to implement international law, but on this matter we
have been absolutely clear. I can certainly assure her that we
will not sign up to any IHR amendment or any other instrument
that would compromise the UK’s ability to make domestic decisions
on national measures concerning public health.
(North West Leicestershire)
(Reclaim)
Can the Minister confirm whether the House will get a vote on the
amendments to the International Health Regulations, or will we
not?
Should the UK Government wish to accept an IHR amendment, changes
to domestic law to reflect proposed obligations may indeed be
required. The Government would therefore prepare draft
legislation and bring it before Parliament in the usual way. Let
me repeat that in all circumstances, the sovereignty of the UK
Parliament would remain unchanged and the UK would retain control
of any future decisions around national public health measures.
Extract from
Westminster Hall debate on UN High-level Meetings in 2023
(Leeds North East)
(Lab):...Finally, I want to touch on the global fight against
tuberculosis, which my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing,
Southall so carefully and brilliantly explained. TB is still a
global killer. In 2021, it killed 1.6 million people, even though
fewer people are now diagnosed with the illness. However, the
more that TB spreads globally, the more it may have an impact on
these shores, as many speakers have outlined. That is why it is
vital that we assist those countries that are struggling in the
fight against TB, particularly Bangladesh
the Congo, Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Uganda, among many others.
What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that we play our part
in tackling TB abroad and what benefits does that have for us at
home?
For context, OPEN HERE
