Minutes of Proceedings

The meeting opened at 11.01 a.m. in public session

1.         Apologies

There were no apologies.

2.         Minutes of the last meeting

Agreed:           The Committee agreed the minutes of the Committee meeting held on    Tuesday 17 January 2012.

3.         Matters Arising        

No matters were raised.

11.02 am         Mr Givan left the meeting.

4.         Correspondence

The Committee noted correspondence from Sinn Fein setting out the Party’s priorities for the Committee’s review in relation to Parts III and IV of the Northern Ireland Act.

5.         Review of Parts III and IV of the Northern Ireland Act in the Context of    Reviewing the Size of the NI Assembly and the number of NI Departments

The Chairperson reminded the Committee that the purpose of this agenda item was for the Committee to consider and agree its priorities in relation to its immediate Review of Parts III and IV of the Northern Ireland Act and to consider legal advice previously sought by the Committee.

11.07 am         Ms Overend joined the meeting.

The Clerk briefed the Committee on the papers before Members today.

11.08 am         The meeting went into CLOSED SESSION

11.08 am         Mr McCartney joined the meeting.

An Assembly Legal Adviser joined the meeting and briefed the Committee on the legal advice.

This was followed by a question and answer session and the Assembly Legal Adviser left the meeting

11.29 am         Mr Givan joined the meeting.

12.04 pm         Mr Campbell left the meeting.

The Committee discussed its forthcoming Review including the draft terms of reference, the scope of the stakeholder list and the approach to gathering evidence.

12.11 pm         The meeting went back into PUBLIC SESSION

Agreed:           The Committee agreed, subject to finalisation of wording, the principles of the terms of reference as amended.

Agreed:           The Committee agreed the proposed stakeholder list as amended.

Agreed:           The Committee agreed the proposed timetable as amended.

Agreed:           The Committee agreed that the following items were outside the scope of the review:

• Alternative electoral systems/ models; and
• The statutory basis for the current committee system

Agreed:           The Committee agreed that the Committee staff draft up a proposed stakeholder ‘Call for Evidence’ paper in line with the amended terms of the Review for consideration at its next meeting

12.15 pm         Mr Hamilton left the meeting.

6.         Any Other Business

No items were raised.

7.         Date, time and place of next meeting

The next meeting of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee will be held on 7 February 2012, at 11.00 am in Room 21, Parliament Buildings.

The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at  12.16 pm

Mr Stephen Moutray
Chairperson, Assembly and Executive Review Committee