To ask the Minister of Health whether quarantine arrangements for Northern Ireland, including a reduction in quarantine period for those arriving and paying for a test, will continue to be in line with those in England beyond 15 December 2020.

Quarantine and self-isolation arrangements applicable in Northern Ireland have largely replicated those in England since December 2020. Similar arrangements exist in both England and Northern Ireland with regard to provision of information, testing, and self-isolation requirements for travellers arriving from amber list countries, and the requirement to enter a managed quarantine facility for travellers arriving from red list countries.

Northern Ireland has also maintained alignment with England in relation to the recent relaxation of border measures for individuals who are fully vaccinated under the UK, EU, or USA vaccination programmes, and travelling to Northern Ireland from amber list countries. These travellers are no longer required to self-isolate, or book and pay for day 8 testing.

One area where Northern Ireland did not replicate the arrangements in England is regarding the Test to Release scheme. Test to Release is a voluntary UK Government initiative that was introduced in England in December 2020. At that time, there were no plans to introduce such a scheme in Northern Ireland as the evidence supported a full 10 day self-isolation period, and this remains the case today. The recent relaxation of international travel restrictions now lessens further the case for introducing the Test to Release scheme in Northern Ireland, as the relaxations themselves remove the requirement to self-isolate on arrival from amber list countries for many fully vaccinated travellers. This will undoubtedly assist many international travellers to Northern Ireland.