Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the dates were of the meetings he has held with the (a) Northern Ireland Equality Commission and (b) the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to discuss the recognition of same sex marriages in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

The previous Secretary of State had not met the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission or the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland to discuss the recognition of same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. The Department has been focused on securing a restoration of the devolved institutions precisely so that important decisions relating to issues such as same sex marriage are considered by locally accountable politicians.