The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Committee has blasted the Government over a move to directly commission abortion services in Northern Ireland, calling the Government’s action “poor practice” and “particularly inappropriate”. SPUC is calling the Government’s move an “illegitimate power grab” and is asking its supporters to urge their MPs to vote against the measure.
The influential Lords Committee, which considers the policy effects of statutory instruments and other types of secondary legislation, has released a report that is highly critical of the Government’s statutory instrument giving the Northern Ireland Secretary powers to commission abortion services in the Province.
“Poor practice”
The report says: “We regard it as poor practice to bring new policy into effect when the House is not sitting, and using a procedure which prevents discussion before the legislation takes effect. It is particularly inappropriate when that policy is likely to be controversial, and the House may wish to ask the Minister to explain that decision.”
The highly controversial move, giving Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis unprecedented powers to intervene in a devolved matter, came into force on 31st March, while the House of Commons was in Easter recess. It has not yet been debated in Parliament.
Illegitimate power grab
Michael Robinson, Director of Campaigns for Northern Ireland for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said: “We certainly hope that MPs will ask Mr Lewis to explain what he is doing. Interfering in a devolved matter, especially one as highly sensitive as abortion, is bad enough, but to sneak it through with no scrutiny is outrageous. Mr Lewis’s actions are an illegitimate power grab, which undermines the democratic viability of the sitting Executive”.
“The people and politicians of Northern Ireland have demonstrated again and again that they do not support the extreme abortion regime mandated by the Westminster Government. Not content at trying to railroad it through while the Assembly was not sitting, Mr Lewis is now claiming dictatorial powers to force the democratically elected representatives of the Province to speed up the killing of unborn children.”
Breaching conventions
As well as slamming the Government for bringing in the policy during recess, the Committee was critical of the Government more than halving the time for the instrument to come into effect: “Contrary to the convention of allowing at least 21 days between laying an instrument and bringing it into effect, the 2021 Regulations came into effect eight days after laying,” which reduced the time for them to be scrutinised, the report said. “The House may therefore wish to press the Minister for further justification as to why the NIO decided to bring these Regulations into effect in breach of the 21-day convention and during Easter recess.”
The report also raised the question of whether compelling Northern Ireland ministers to commission abortion services would impinge on the conscientious objection protection in last year’s regulations.
Mr Robinson concluded: “We are calling on MPs to vote down these regulations when they are finally brought before the House in the next few weeks. Regardless of one’s views on abortion, it is clearly unacceptable for the Government to use such underhand methods to impose unwanted legislation on a devolved nation.”