Official Report (Hansard)

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Assembly and Executive Review Committee

Review of Petitions of Concern: Committee Agreement of Report on Petitions of Concern

The Chairperson: The aim of the session is to allow the Committee to consider the final draft of the report on the Committee's review. I propose that we consider the final draft text section by section.

Are members content with the executive summary section of the report?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Are members content with the introduction and the "The Committee's Approach to the Review" section?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Are members content with the "Committee Consideration" section?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Are members content with the "Committee Analysis and Conclusions" section of the report?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Are members content with appendix 1 to the report: the extract of Minutes of Proceedings relating to the review?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Are members content with appendix 2: the Minutes of Evidence — the Hansards — relating to the review?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Are members content with appendix 3 to the report: "Options Paper on Petitions of Concern: Ad Hoc Committee on Conformity with Equality Requirements"?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Are members content with appendix 4 to the report: "Party Responses"?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Are members content with appendix 5 to the report: "Correspondence and Other Papers Relating to the Review"?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Are members content with appendix 6 to the report: "Assembly Research Papers"?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Thank you. The final version of the report will be proof-read a final time before the report is ordered to print. Are members content that the Committee secretariat make any changes to typing errors or the format of the report, where necessary? These will have no effect on the substance of the report and are purely for formatting.

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: The extract of the Minutes of Proceedings and the Minutes of Evidence — the Hansard report — from today's meeting will have to be included in the report: are members content that I, as Chairperson, approve the extract from the Minutes of Proceedings from today's meeting for inclusion in the report?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Are members therefore content that the first edition of today's Hansard report of the review will be included in the report, as there is insufficient time for members to review the transcript before publication?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Are members content that the Committee secretariat forward an embargoed electronic version of the report with an appropriate covering letter from me, as Chairperson, to the Secretary of State, the First Minister, the deputy First Minister and leaders of the parties in the Assembly?

Members indicated assent.

Mr Beggs: Can members have an embargoed electronic version as well?

The Chairperson: OK.

We now move to consideration of the draft motion for a debate on the report in the Assembly plenary that was tabled earlier in the meeting. Are members content with the wording of the draft motion for debate in the Assembly plenary and that the Committee request 7 April for the debate?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Finally, are members content that the Committee should order its report on the review of petitions of concern to be printed following today's meeting and that hard copies be kept to a minimum in the interests of efficiency?

Members indicated assent.

Mr Beggs: I take it that there is an electronic pack at the back and we are not producing loads of appendices needlessly.

The Committee Clerk: The proposal is that the 11 members of the Committee are given the very thin hard copy with a CD at the back, so that they can see the report, if that is what members are content to get. It is the thin version of the report, rather than the thicker version.

The Chairperson: Thank you. Are members content that a note be put in the Business Office today signalling that two embargoed manuscript copies of the report will be laid in the Business Office by close tomorrow?  I advise members that the report should be returned by the printer and distributed to all MLAs by 2 or 3 April. The report will, of course, be embargoed until the commencement of the plenary debate. Are members agreed?

Members indicated assent.

The Chairperson: Thank you.