Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether legislative consent motions to the Northern Ireland Assembly are required for the Offensive Weapons Bill 2017-19, and how consent will be sought for the extension of provisions of that Bill to Northern Ireland.

The United Kingdom Government has been liaising closely with Northern Ireland departments in respect of devolved matters where provisions in the Offensive Weapons Bill may extend to Northern Ireland. Consideration has been given by Northern Ireland departments and UK Government Ministers on extending this legislation in the absence of an Assembly or a Legislative Consent Motion.

The Bill contains separate commencement measures for provisions extending to Northern Ireland which relate to devolved matters. These are to be commenced by the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland and associated regulations will not be commenced without Northern Ireland assembly approval.