Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Bill — New Clause 7 — Equal Rights for People of Northern Ireland — 24 Oct 2018 at 19:01

The majority of MPs voted to require the UK Government to issue guidance to to senior officers of all Northern Ireland departments on the subject of human rights, particularly in the context of abortion law.

MPs were considering the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Bill^[1].

The proposed new clause supported by the majority of MPs in this vote was titled: Equal rights for people of Northern Ireland (No. 2) and stated:

• (1) In the absence of Northern Ireland Ministers to address the matters identified by recent, current and future court proceedings in relation to the human rights of the people of Northern Ireland, the Secretary of State must issue guidance to senior officers of all Northern Ireland departments which will specify how to exercise their functions in relation to—
• (a) the incompatibility of the human rights of the people of Northern Ireland with the continued enforcement of sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 with the Human Rights Act 1998, and
• (b) the incompatibility of the human rights of the people of Northern Ireland with the continued enforcement of section 13(e) of the Matrimonial Causes (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 where they pertain to the provision and management of public services in Northern Ireland.
• (2) The Secretary of State shall report guidance under this section on a quarterly basis to the House of Commons and set out her plans to address the impact of the absence of Northern Ireland Ministers on human rights obligations within three months of the day on which this Act is passed.”

The new clause which was supported in this vote was accompanied by the following explanatory statement:

• This new clause would increase accountability of the Secretary of State and senior officers of Northern Ireland departments for their role in ensuring human rights compliance in Northern Ireland, in the absence of Northern Ireland Ministers, by requiring them to address incompatibilities between legislation applied in Northern Ireland and human rights obligations.
• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Bill

Debate in Parliament |