Abortion: London wants 'concrete steps' towards NI services by summer

The Department of Health must take "concrete steps" towards commissioning full abortion services in NI before the summer, a government minister has said.

Robin Walker said the secretary of state stands ready to act if significant progress is not made.

Abortion was decriminalised in 2019 in NI, but full services have been stalled.

MPs on a Westminster committee backed regulations allowing Brandon Lewis to direct commissioning of services.

They voted in favour by 13 votes to three.

"We need to see movement coming forward," Mr Walker, a Northern Ireland Office minister, told the First Delegated Legislation Committee.

"If we do not see significant progress before the summer recess, the secretary of state stands ready to issue the direction empowered by these regulations."

Mr Walker said it is the government's preference that the NI Executive and assembly moves forward with the issue.

The regulations, published in March, state that Mr Lewis is acting as required to uphold legal and human rights duties on NI abortion services.

Northern Ireland's Department of Health has said the matter is "controversial" and any decision on abortion services must be made by the whole executive.

Eighty-eight MPs - including SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, the party's South Belfast MP Claire Hanna and Alliance's Stephen Farry - offered cross-party support for the NI secretary's move in a letter to Stormont ministers.

There has been strong support for Westminster intervention from 88 MPs across the political divide

However, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has criticised it and said it would have "serious consequences" for devolution.

At the First Delegated Legislation Committee on Monday, DUP MP Carla Lockhart said Northern Ireland's place in the union has been undermined.

"I do not question the fact that Parliament is legally entitled to legislate for Northern Ireland not withstanding that certain powers are devolved to the assembly," Ms Lockhart said.

"But I do question the wisdom of it and the enduring damage it will do to the devolved settlement."

Changes to NI's abortion laws came into force in March 2020 after Westminster acted during a period when the power-sharing institutions at Stormont were suspended.

However, the commissioning of full services has been delayed.

• Timeline: Abortion in Northern Ireland

Stormont and Westminster are facing legal action from the Human Rights Commission over this delay. The case is due to be heard by Belfast High Court at the end of May.

Latest figures from the Department of Health show that since abortion regulations came into force at the end of March last year, 1,345 terminations have taken place.

The department added that full provision of services will require "substantial additional investment" from the government.

Earlier in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday, Health Minister Robin Swann said the Western Health and Social Care Trust had temporarily suspended early abortion services.

Mr Swann said the trust had informed his department about the move last Friday.

"My department will continue to monitor ongoing efforts by the trust to restore delivery of those services with minimum disruption," he said.

"At this stage it's not known how long services will be paused in the Western Trust. It's my understanding that efforts are ongoing to put additional staff in place as soon as possible and to resume provision of an EMA service with a minimum of disruption."

He was responding to a question from Green Party MLA Rachel Woods who had asked for clarity on "who the conscientious objection provision" in the regulations "applied to".