Historical Institutional Abuse (Northern Ireland) Act 2019

26 Co-ordination of service provision etc

(1) The Commissioner must encourage the provision, and the coordination of the provision, of relevant services in Northern Ireland to victims and survivors.

(2) “Relevant service” means a service designed—

(a) to improve a person’s physical or mental health,

(b) to help a person to overcome an addiction,

(c) to provide a person with counselling,

(d) to improve a person’s literacy or numeracy,

(e) to provide a person with other education or training, or

(f) to enable a person to access opportunities for work.

(3) In carrying out the duty under subsection (1), the Commissioner must take account of the current provision of relevant services to victims and survivors and must identify any gaps in the provision of those services.

(4) The Commissioner must provide, or secure the provision of, advice and information to victims and survivors on—

(a) the relevant services that are available to them and the facilities that are available for the provision of those services, and

(b) how to obtain those services and access those facilities.

(5) The Commissioner must, on becoming aware in the course of exercising the Commissioner’s functions of a matter which comes within the area of responsibility of the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Northern Ireland, consult that Commissioner.