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At the request of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, the Secretary of State has signed an extension to a transitional provision made under the Legacy Act. This extension will allow the Ombudsman to carry out post-investigative tasks in a small number of remaining cases until 31 October 2027. Under the Legacy Act, the period was initially set to end on 30 April 2025, and this has since been extended by the Government three times to enable post-investigative work to be completed by the Police Ombudsman and other investigating bodies.

\n\n

The Government is committed to ensuring families receive information as soon as possible about what happened to their loved ones, and is currently taking forward the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, which will repeal and replace the Legacy Act.

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The Secretary of State is responsible for the overall work of the Department, including on:

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He also has overall responsibility for the NIO’s parliamentary activity in the House of Commons.

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