Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress the Veterinary Medicines working group has made on increasing access to veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland since its inaugural meeting.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Government’s priority is to secure a long-term sustainable solution on veterinary medicines. We aim to settle on a solution through discussions with the EU, as well as continuing to consider all available flexibilities as necessary to safeguard and sustain the supply of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland. To support that work, the Veterinary Medicines Working Group was established in March. It has met twice so far, and is serving as a forum for constructive and detailed exploration of next steps.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Deputy Prime Minister's oral statement of 11 September 2023 on Security Update, Official Report, column 673, whether he has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of designating the genomics sector as Critical National Infrastructure.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The genomics sector is not currently designated as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). There is a strict framework for classification: CNI assets and systems are those that have been assessed as having a significant and catastrophic impact to the functioning of the UK – either through the loss of life or limb, on the economy, or national security, defence or the functioning of the state – should they be disrupted or compromised. The threshold is a high bar so that resources are focused on the highest priority, and most critical, assets and systems.
There are strong and sufficient provisions protecting UK genomics databases, including through the UK Data Protection Act (2018), which delivers a data protection framework tailored to the needs of our criminal justice agencies and intelligence services. The relevant genomics data is additionally held within Secure Data Environments, affording further security protections.
As with all parts of the CNI landscape, we commit to keeping this position under review.
Apr. 24 2024
Source Page: Specialised Committee on the Implementation of the Windsor Framework: agenda, 25 April 2024Apr. 24 2024
Source Page: I. Veterinary Medicine Working Group (VMWG): Terms of reference. 4p. II. Letter dated April 2024 from Lord Douglas-Miller and Steve Baker MP to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding a document for deposit in the House libraries. 1p.Apr. 24 2024
Source Page: I. Veterinary Medicine Working Group (VMWG): Terms of reference. 4p. II. Letter dated April 2024 from Lord Douglas-Miller and Steve Baker MP to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding a document for deposit in the House libraries. 1p.