Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/news/deal-to-see-restored-government-in-northern-ireland-tomorrow [accessed 24 January 2020]. The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 came into force on 22 October 2019, requiring the Secretary of State to make regulations, to come into force on or before 13 January 2020, to allow different sex couples to form civil partnerships.5Northern Ireland Office, UK Government. (2020, January 14).