Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when the consultation on section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 will be launched; and what the terms of the consultation will be.

The Government believes that a period of consultation on the issues of abortion law in Northern Ireland is the right thing to do, given the range of sensitive policy issues that need to be carefully worked through. We will be looking to shortly launch a consultation on the proposed new legal framework to be in place by 31 March 2020.

The consultation will focus on how we can deliver the proposed new legislative framework for Northern Ireland, consistent with the recommendations in the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women Report, Inquiry concerning the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to deliver on the statutory duty in section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019.