Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many women have travelled to England to receive abortion care since the establishment of a legal framework for abortion in Northern Ireland on 31 March 2020.
Answered by Robin Walker
The health and safety of women and girls remains paramount in accessing abortion services across the UK. I note there is some local provision of services, with over 719 abortions having been provided in Northern Ireland.
Where access is sought in other circumstances and cannot yet be provided locally in Northern Ireland, we are continuing to engage closely with the British Pregnancy Advisory Service who are contracted to provide access to the Government-funded services in England. During Covid-19, even where travel options have been limited, some abortion services have remained available in England for women resident in Northern Ireland to access.
The statistics for 2020 will be published later this year by the Department of Health and Social Care as per usual practice.
We firmly believe that full commissioning of services by the Department of Health would remain the most appropriate way to progress the matter and we are working to further engage and offer support to achieve this at the earliest opportunity.
We are continuing to monitor the situation closely, including considering further legislative action at Westminster.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on equality for women across the UK of the lack of (a) funding or (b) commissioning for abortion services in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robin Walker
I am pleased that since the Regulations we made came into effect from 31 March 2020, some abortion service provision has commenced on the ground in Northern Ireland through existing sexual and reproductive health clinics across most Health and Social Care Trusts. According to figures released by the Department of Health in October, over 719 abortions have been provided in Northern Ireland. The collection of notification forms, and relevant data, in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Department of Health.
Informing Choices Northern Ireland has been acting as the Central Access Point in order to provide a local pathway to this abortion care. Women and girls resident in Northern Ireland also continue to have access to safe, fully-funded abortion services in England through the Government-funded scheme and remain able to contact the Central Booking Scheme for support and advice on options available in this regard.
The health and safety of women and girls remains paramount in accessing abortion services right across the UK. We firmly believe that full commissioning of services by the Department of Health would remain the most appropriate way to progress the matter and we are working to further engage and offer support to achieve this at the earliest opportunity.
We are continuing to monitor the situation closely, including considering further legislative action at Westminster.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure abortion services in Northern Ireland are compliant with the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act 2019; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robin Walker
Regulations have been in place to make provision for accessing abortions in Northern Ireland since 31 March 2020, consistent with section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act 2019.
I note that some service provision commenced on the ground in Northern Ireland through existing sexual and reproductive health services from last April. Over 719 women and girls have been able to access services locally since this time.
We remain disappointed that the Northern Ireland Executive and Department of Health have not acted to ensure they deliver on these rights following the earlier change to the law. However, we firmly believe that full commissioning of services by the Department of Health would remain the most appropriate way to progress the matter and we are working to further engage and offer support to achieve this.
In the meantime, we are continuing to fund access to services in England for women and girls where access is not available locally in Northern Ireland.
We are continuing to closely monitor the situation, including considering further legislative action at Westminster.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether any Ministers in her Department attended the Presidents Club Charity Dinner run by the Meller Educational Trust in an official capacity.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
No Ministers attended the Presidents Club Charity Dinner run by the Meller Educational Trust.