Attorney General correspondence in relation to the Assembly recall and/or abortion legislation

Information Standards Freedom of Information Response

Our Ref: FoI 32-19

14th November 2019

Freedom of Information Act 2000

I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission does not hold the information, which you requested on 01 November 2019. In your request, you asked for the following information:

"It was reported that the DUP had sought and received legal opinion from the Attorney General in relation to an attempt to stop Westminster legislation on abortion. This was put forward at a recall of the assembly last month.

Please disclose the following for the period from October 2019 to present:

A copy of all correspondence sent to and received from the Attorney General (redacted where appropriate if necessary) in relation to the assembly recall and/or abortion legislation."

No correspondence was sent by the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission or the Speaker to the Attorney General for Northern Ireland in relation to the matter set out in your request, nor has any such correspondence been received by the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission or the Speaker from the Attorney General for Northern Ireland.

You have the right to request a formal review by the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission and if you wish to do so, please write to me at the above address.

If after such an internal review you are still unhappy with the response, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF who will undertake an independent review.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Data Protection and Information Standards Officer