Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the statement of 26 June 2020 from the Minister of Health in Northern Ireland that decisions remain to be taken on the commissioning of abortion services in NI’s health service. Commissioning is a significant process that will require a public consultation. It will clearly be matter for the Executive and Assembly as well as the Department, and pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2020 to Question 66853 on Abortion: Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to fulfil his obligation under section 9 of the Northern Ireland Formation Act 2019 to ensure that the recommendations in paragraphs 85 and 86 of the CEDAW report are implemented.

In accordance with section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act 2019, regulations are now in place to make provision for accessing abortions in Northern Ireland. These regulations implement several of the recommendations in paragraphs 85 and 86 of the CEDAW report.

The Government response to the consultation sets out how the Government is ensuring implementation of all of the recommendations that remain outstanding. We will continue to work closely with the relevant Northern Ireland departments, where relevant, in continuing to progress this work over the coming months.