Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Women’s Rights

Wednesday 7 September 2022 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Huw Merriman inquired about the Government's steps to protect women's rights in Northern Ireland, specifically regarding abortion services.
  • The Secretary of State committed to writing to Huw Merriman with more details on the timeframe for commissioning abortion services in Northern Ireland.
  • Ian Paisley Jnr highlighted Lady Mary Peters' 50-year anniversary of her Olympic gold medal and its inspiration for young female athletes.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Huw Merriman Con
Northern Ireland Women & Equalities
Context

The MP raises concerns about women's rights issues not being adequately addressed despite governmental support and legislative actions.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to help protect women's rights in Northern Ireland. Despite the lead taken by the Government and the votes of this House, abortion services are still not being commissioned in Northern Ireland. I ask the Secretary of State to give a timeframe for when that will finally occur.

Answer from Chris Heaton-Harris

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. This Government support any work undertaken in Northern Ireland to tackle issues that disproportionately affect women. In May, my predecessor made regulations that remove the barriers to ensure that women and girls in Northern Ireland have the same access to healthcare as those in the rest of the UK. I will happily write to my hon. Friend with more details about that, but the regulations laid in May take a dual approach. On 20 May, the previous Northern Ireland Secretary wrote to the Health Minister in Northern Ireland requesting that he provide a clear and unambiguous commitment that he will comply with the regulations.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific timeframe for commissioning abortion services was not provided.

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Q2 Huw Merriman Con
Northern Ireland Women & Equalities
Context

The MP raises concerns about women's rights issues not being adequately addressed despite governmental support and legislative actions.

Question

Despite the lead taken by the Government and the votes of this House, abortion services are still not being commissioned in Northern Ireland. I ask the Secretary of State to give a timeframe for when that will finally occur.

Answer from Chris Heaton-Harris

I will happily write to my hon. Friend with more details about that, but the regulations laid in May take a dual approach. On 20 May, the previous Northern Ireland Secretary wrote to the Health Minister in Northern Ireland requesting that he provide a clear and unambiguous commitment that he will comply with the regulations.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific timeframe for commissioning abortion services was not provided.

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Q3 Ian Paisley Jnr DUP
Northern Ireland Culture, Media & Sport Women & Equalities
Context

A Member of Parliament praises the achievements of a prominent female athlete and asks about initiatives to promote women's involvement in sports.

Question

On the issue of women's rights, this week Northern Ireland's golden girl, Lady Mary Peters, celebrated 50 years since achieving her gold medal at the Olympics. She has inspired young women such as Bethany Firth, Kate O'Connor, Ciara Mageean and a host of others to do likewise. Now that the Secretary of State is in post, what will he do to promote women into sport and encourage them with not only active support but resources for sport?

Answer from Chris Heaton-Harris

I thank the hon. Member for his question. He will know that I am a not very good but passionate sportsman in a whole host of sports, and I recognise what getting more women involved in all sorts of sports can do to benefit communities, people, their health and everything else. I will do everything I possibly can using sport as a tool to both get involved in all the communities in Northern Ireland and try to encourage more women into sport at the same time.

Not addressed: The specific actions and resources being allocated were not detailed.

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