We recognise that access to abortion services is an emotive and sensitive issue for many. In July 2019, Parliament imposed on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a duty under section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 to ensure all of the CEDAW recommendations are implemented in Northern Ireland. This is a matter of domestic, not international, law.<\/p>
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The devolution settlement does not absolve us of our responsibility to uphold the rights of women and girls, given the duty in section 9 of the EF Act did not fall away with the restoration of the Executive, nor with the making of the initial regulations that came into force on 31 March 2020.<\/p>
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While we made the Regulations last March providing the framework for access to abortions, and some service provision commenced, this has not discharged those legal duties in full. We carefully considered the views and evidence presented through the consultation - including those who took the time to share individual, and often deeply personal experiences, to help shape the final framework for Northern Ireland. The CEDAW Report and recommendations require that evidence based protocols are adopted in terms of provision of services in Northern Ireland, and we took particular account of the views and evidence provided by experts and medical professionals, alongside the views of other respondents in making decisions on the final proposals. We considered the range of views in light of our legal obligations, and took evidenced based decisions, in order to bring forward a new legislative framework that is operationally sound, works best for Northern Ireland and that delivers on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland\u2019s duty. To this end, we developed an abortion framework that provides access to services consistent with what the CEDAW Report and the section 9 duty require.<\/p>
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We consider the Regulations to also be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and we are confident that the legal framework put in place, and the ongoing efforts to ensure the CEDAW recommendations are implemented, is lawful in light of case law and the statutory obligations imposed on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.<\/p>
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<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4091", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Robin Walker"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Worcester"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Robin Walker"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-05-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-05-24T11:05:57.333Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "21"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Northern Ireland"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Northern Ireland"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-05-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the (a) recommendations of the report by the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on abortion law in Northern Ireland and (b) majority judgments of the Supreme Court in In the matter of an application by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) [2018] UKSC 27.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/350", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir John Hayes"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South Holland and The Deepings"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Sir John Hayes"} ], "uin" : "1274"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1314761", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1314761/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
We are building the homes our country needs and helping a new generation to own their own home \u2013 and making sure young people are not priced out of their area.<\/p>
We are investing over £12 billion in affordable housing over 5 years, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes our new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme which will leverage up to £38 billion of private finance and deliver up to 180,000 homes should economic conditions allow. Half of these homes will be for affordable home ownership, supporting aspiring homeowners to take their first step on to the housing ladder. This includes our new, fairer model for Shared Ownership and 1,500 First Homes for first-time buyers and key workers.<\/p>
First Homes are homes which are sold to first-time buyers with a discount of at least 30 per cent from full market value, making both deposits and mortgage requirements cheaper and opening up the dream of home ownership to even more people. The discount will be funded by developers themselves as part of their contributions through planning obligations, without a direct cost to central Government or local authorities.<\/p>
Crucially, the discount will be passed on to all future purchasers in perpetuity, so these homes will keep helping first-time buyers onto the property ladder for generations to come.<\/p>
In future, 25 per cent of all affordable homes delivered by developers as part of their obligatory contributions will be First Homes. This new First Homes Requirement means that there will be a steady and sustained supply of these homes, helping first-time buyers across England.<\/p>
This is in addition to our Help to Buy: Equity Loans, which have helped over 257,000 first-time buyers into homeownership since its launch in 2013 to 1 December 2020. The new Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme opened on 1 April 2021 and will run to March 2023. It is targeted at first-time buyers only and has regional property price caps based on average first time buyer property prices.<\/p>
The mortgage guarantee scheme launched on 19 April 2021 and will be available until December 2022, enabling lenders to offer 95% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages to both first-time buyers and existing homeowners, throughout the whole UK, on homes up to £600,000 in value. 95% mortgages supported through the scheme are open to all adults, including young adults.<\/p>
For renters, in response to Covid-19 pressures, the Government has put in place an unprecedented support package to help renters and ensure they can continue to afford their housing costs, including retaining the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Universal Credit uplift until September.<\/p>
In the long run we need to build more homes to tackle affordability. This is why we are bringing forward an ambitious near-£20 billion investment to underpin the Government\u2019s long-term housing strategy. We are also pushing forward with our planning reforms to establish a simpler, faster and more predictable system and ensure that the right homes are built in the right places where they are needed.<\/p>
We are making good progress towards achieving our supply ambitions of delivering 1 million homes this Parliament and building 300,000 homes a year over the longer term. Last year, around 244,000 homes were delivered \u2013 the highest level for over 30 years and the seventh consecutive year that net supply has increased.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4075", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Christopher Pincher"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Tamworth"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Christopher Pincher"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-05-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "previousAnswerVersion" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1314761/answer/previousversion/1148", "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4075", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Christopher Pincher"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Tamworth"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Christopher Pincher"} } , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-05-19T16:59:18.27Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-05-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Affordable Housing: Young People"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make housing more affordable for young people.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4859", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Virginia Crosbie"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Ynys Môn"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Virginia Crosbie"} ], "uin" : "1417"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1314767", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Treasury"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1314767/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
No such discussions have been held. Following the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee Report publication, the Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth has arranged to meet the Scheme Trustees with a view to agreeing a way forward. The Government will then respond to the Committee\u2019s report.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4095", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Steve Barclay"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North East Cambridgeshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Steve Barclay"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-05-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-05-19T12:48:29.85Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-05-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Mineworkers' Pension Scheme"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions officials in his Department has had with (a) officials in the Department for Work and Pensions and (b) the Welsh Government on the distribution of the Investment Reserve arising from the Miners\u2019 Pension Scheme.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4630", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Lake"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Ceredigion"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Lake"} ], "uin" : "1369"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1314804", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1314804/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Seven contracts have been awarded by the Department to Unispace Global Ltd for the supply of personal protective equipment. The details of each contract are available at the following links:<\/p>
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/acd01950-7e8b-44e0-9a77-b91602f47268?origin=SearchResults&p=1<\/a><\/p> Contract award date 19 May 2020. Expiry date upon delivery of the last batch of goods.<\/p> https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/888e3921-ebe6-46ae-b695-984c62137cac?origin=SearchResults&p=1<\/a><\/p> Contract award date 10 June 2020. Expiry date upon delivery of the last batch of goods.<\/p> https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/a47d06a2-51e6-45bd-81c6-fc988a7b0712?origin=SearchResults&p=1<\/a><\/p> Contract award date 16 May 2020. Expiry date upon delivery of the last batch of goods.<\/p> https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/13751ae7-0d1a-4ec3-b0e6-ffae00e8e934<\/a><\/p> Contract award date 29 April 2020. Expiry date is 7 August 2020.<\/p> https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/92a59e2d-aefc-4df6-b1a5-c15fb7f2b051?origin=SearchResults&p=1<\/a><\/p> Contract award date 22 April 2020. Expiry date 3 July 2020.<\/p>