To ask the Minister of Health to detail any (i) current guidance provided to schools on the use of adrenaline auto-injectors; and (ii) plans to update this guidance.

The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 were amended in October 2017 to allow schools to purchase adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) devices without a prescription, for emergency use in children who are at risk of anaphylaxis but whose own device is not available or not working.

Following these amendments, ‘Guidance on the use of adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) in schools’, developed by the Department of Health in England, was adapted for Northern Ireland in 2018 by my Department, in partnership with the Department of Education. The guidance is an addendum to ‘Supporting Pupils with Medication Needs’ and is non-statutory but is intended to capture the good practice which schools should observe in using spare AAIs to inform development of local policies.

The NI guidance is available on the Department of Education’s website (https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/corrected-aai-guidance-october-2018) and remains extant at this time. My Department will keep this position under review, working in partnership with the Department of Education, and will update the guidance if required to reflect any changes in policy or legislation which make update necessary.