Tracker update | 7 November 2026
The Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Communities has sought clarification from Bill sponsor Eóin Tennyson on the drafting of the Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill.
Questions to the sponsor — 22 October
Published minutes record the Committee’s agreement to ask about legal certainty in clauses 1 and 2; the different harm threshold in clause 3; the clarity of clause 4’s definition; and whether clause 6 needs more detailed provision. Members also asked whether the Department of Health should be required to consult before exercising its clause 4 powers. These are formal scrutiny questions; the minutes do not record agreed amendments.
Human-rights memorandum published — 23 October
The Assembly has published its Legal Services Office’s Convention Rights Memorandum. It examines legal certainty, fair-trial rights, private and family life, religion and expression, identifying matters for further scrutiny. It expressly states that it does not constitute legal advice. Its discussion also emphasises the Convention’s protection of sexual orientation and gender identity when balancing competing rights.
Read the Convention Rights Memorandum.
Evidence overview held — 5 November
The official Assembly business record now confirms that the Committee held a public overview of evidence received, lasting 36 minutes. This updates the earlier report that the session had merely been scheduled. The business record alone does not establish any findings or decisions arising from it.
Next hearings and deadline
The current programme schedules evidence from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, PSNI and Public Prosecution Service on 12 November, with further oral-evidence sessions on 19 and 26 November. These remain scheduled proceedings. Committee Stage is extended to 29 January 2027, following Assembly approval on 19 October.
View the forward work programme · Read the extension debate and decision.
Why it matters: the Committee has moved from receiving legal briefings to formally seeking drafting explanations and reviewing submitted evidence. Those steps could inform amendments, but that is an inference; they do not themselves change the Bill’s text.
Sources
Assembly Committee Stage records · Assembly business diary covering 5 November
