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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.
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.
In the UK the Upper Bann constituency held by the DUP s Carla Lockhart has recorded the largest number of signatures at 6,073.
The West Belfast seat of Sinn Fein s Paul Maskey has the lowest figure locally, with just 1,442 putting their name to the petition calling on the Government to use all the powers it has to move urgently to protect UK trade and to ensure all UK goods and produce can freely flow to and from every part of the United Kingdom .
The top six constituencies backing the petition are all DUP seats.
The seventh is North Down, where the MP is Alliance s Stephen Farry, who backs the protocol.
Ian Paisley stands over Catholic IRA remarks Ian Paisley stood over his remarks about the Catholic IRA 29 January, 2021 01:00
Eamon Phoenix said it was incorrect to directly link Catholicism and violent republicanism. Picture by Press Eye/Darren Kidd
IAN Paisley was last night unrepentant about his Catholic IRA remarks, insisting the claim was an uncomfortable truth that his critics failed to recognise.
But the DUP MP said he made no association of the RC [Roman Catholic] Church with the IRA and that Alliance s Stephen Farry wanted to take offence when none was given .
Historian Eamon Phoenix said it was incorrect to directly link Catholicism and violent republicanism, and that the Church had been a consistent critic of the IRA and its forerunners.
DUP MPs to vote against trade deal as assembly is recalled for debate Arlene Foster said DUP MPs would vote against the EU-UK trade deal because they had reservations about the protocol. Picture by Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
John O’Dowd said the assembly needed to discuss the Brexit trade deal
THE DUP s eight MPs will vote against the EU-UK trade deal when Westminster seeks to ratify the eleventh hour agreement tomorrow.
The north s remaining three non-abstentionist MPs – the SDLP s Colum Eastwood and Claire Hanna and Alliance s Stephen Farry – are also expected to reject the deal hammered out on Christmas Eve.