Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2018 to Question 245778 on Domestic Abuse Bill (Draft): Northern Ireland, what pre-existing policy decisions on domestic abuse the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland is working on in the absence of an Assembly.
Answered by John Penrose
Discussions are ongoing between the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and the Department of Justice in relation to the application of the landmark Domestic Abuse Bill to Northern Ireland. Details will be announced in due course.
The Department of Justice in Northern Ireland is progressing a range of work in relation to on pre-existing policy decisions on domestic violence and abuse, in conjunction with its statutory, voluntary and community sector partners. including a domestic abuse offence; domestic homicide reviews, a domestic violence and abuse disclosure scheme; a streamlined advocacy support service; behavioural change programmes for those demonstrating concerning behaviours and an advertising campaign to raise awareness of domestic abuse and the availability of the disclosure scheme. These key policy areas were set out in the seven year ‘Stopping Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse’ strategy published by Northern Ireland Ministers in 2016.
These are from the following documents: https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/doj/stopping-domestic-sexual-violence-ni.pdf and https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/justice/Year%204%20draft%20Action%20Plan%20Stopping%20Domestic%20and%20Sexual%20Violence%20and%20Abuse%20Strategy.pdf
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2019 to Question 245778 on Domestic Abuse Bill (Draft): Northern Ireland, if she will provide further details on what new Domestic Abuse Offence in Northern Ireland she is working on with the Home Office and Ministry of justice including publishing any consultation papers for this purpose.
Answered by John Penrose
Discussions are ongoing between the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and the Department of Justice in relation to the application of the landmark Domestic Abuse Bill to Northern Ireland. Details will be announced in due course.
The Department of Justice in Northern Ireland is progressing a range of work in relation to on pre-existing policy decisions on domestic violence and abuse, in conjunction with its statutory, voluntary and community sector partners. including a domestic abuse offence; domestic homicide reviews, a domestic violence and abuse disclosure scheme; a streamlined advocacy support service; behavioural change programmes for those demonstrating concerning behaviours and an advertising campaign to raise awareness of domestic abuse and the availability of the disclosure scheme. These key policy areas were set out in the seven year ‘Stopping Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse’ strategy published by Northern Ireland Ministers in 2016.
These are from the following documents: https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/doj/stopping-domestic-sexual-violence-ni.pdf and https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/justice/Year%204%20draft%20Action%20Plan%20Stopping%20Domestic%20and%20Sexual%20Violence%20and%20Abuse%20Strategy.pdf
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland on the Domestic Abuse bill.
Answered by John Penrose
Under the terms of the EFEF Act, the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland has been able to continue work in line with pre-existing policy decisions on Domestic Abuse, in the absence of a functioning Assembly. Officials are liaising closely with the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to discuss a new Domestic Abuse Offence in Northern Ireland. The NIO is liaising with all departments so that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I can be kept up to date with progress.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, further to the Answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 237193, to what sections of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 that answer refers.
Answered by John Penrose
Amendments to section 71 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 are planned in order to address the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s ‘own motion’ legal standing to bring challenges under the Human Rights Act 1998.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will publish the titles of the statutory instruments that have effect in Northern Ireland which have been debated in the House; and to which Northern Ireland Government Office each such Statutory Instrument was referred since December 2018.
Answered by John Penrose
Details of statutory instruments debated in the House and the territorial extent are published on the UK Parliament website - https://beta.parliament.uk/work-packages.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will publish the titles of the legislative consent motions that have been sent to Departments in Northern Ireland for consent since December 2018.
Answered by John Penrose
At present, without a Northern Ireland Executive in place, there is no way to seek legislative consent.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 237070 on Health Services (Cross-border Health Care and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, if she will place a copy of the Department of Health for Northern Ireland legislative review in the Library.
Answered by John Penrose
Department of Health for Northern Ireland officials completed a legislative review in August 2017 as part of Northern Ireland Civil Service’s preparations for EU exit. My officials will discuss with the Department of Health in Northern Ireland the appropriate publication of information relating to the review.
EU Exit Statutory Instruments are taken through Westminster to correct inoperabilities or provide technical fixes under the powers in section 8 of the European Union Withdrawal Act 2018.
In this case, the regulations were developed by the Northern Ireland Civil Service and, in the absence of a Stormont Executive, under the terms of the Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions Act, the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health for Northern Ireland gave his clearance for the Health Services (Cross-Border Health Care and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 on 31 January 2019, to issue to the Department of Health and Social Care for laying in Westminster.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 237070 on Health Services (Cross-border Health Care and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, if she will publish all written records of (a) the decision made by UK Government Ministers that in the interest of legal certainty in Northern Ireland, the UK Government would take through the necessary secondary legislation at Westminster for Northern Ireland in close consultation with the Northern Ireland departments and ( b)which Ministers made that assessment.
Answered by John Penrose
I will reply as soon as possible.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2019 to Question 236415, what criteria she used to inform the decision to extend the Offensive Weapons Bill which includes in it matters which are transferred to Northern Ireland Assembly to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Karen Bradley
It is important that we have a consistent approach to the control of corrosive substances across the UK. I therefore agreed that it was in the public interest to extend the Offensive Weapons Bill to Northern Ireland, on the condition that the provisions will not be commenced until the Northern Ireland Assembly is restored.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to her oral contribution to the Women and Equalities Committee inquiry into abortion in Northern Ireland on 27 February 2019, what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals to give legal standing to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Committee.
Answered by Karen Bradley
I have secured collective agreement across Government to commit to introduce legislation to address the Commission’s ‘own motion’ legal standing under the Human Rights Act 1998, via its powers under the Northern Ireland Act 1998. This will happen at the earliest opportunity, before the end of 2019, to ensure it has the legal mandate to bring cases in its own name before the UK domestic courts.
We are currently working through options for the appropriate legislative vehicle to deliver this fix at the earliest opportunity.