Committee on Procedures' Review of Proxy Voting

Synopsis: Proxy voting was one of the range of temporary measures introduced in an effort to minimise risk to Members and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Northern Ireland Assembly’s Business Committee considers that there is merit in retaining proxy voting in circumstances where Members cannot be physically present in the Chamber but are not otherwise prevented from casting their vote. Therefore, the Speaker wrote to the Committee on Procedures to suggest that it considers the instances in which proxy voting could be retained on a more permanent basis, and how this might be reflected in Standing Orders. Subsequently, the Committee considered this issue as part of its strategic planning and agreed to undertake a review of proxy voting.