Committees A to Z
An Assembly Committee is a group of MLAs appointed by the Assembly. Committees of the Assembly are established in the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and their powers and procedures are set out in Standing Orders.
There are three types of Assembly Committees: Statutory Committees, Standing Committees, and Ad Hoc Committees. When an issue is of interest to two or more Committees, they can decide to establish an Ad Hoc Joint Committee or to meet as a Concurrent Committee.
Click on a letter below to read more about any terms that begin with that letter:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
- Ad Hoc Committee
- In addition to statutory committees and standing committees, the Assembly can establish ad hoc committees to deal with any specific, time-bounded terms of reference (i.e. to deal with a particular issue).
- Helpful links to learn more about ad hoc committees:
- Ad Hoc Joint Committee
- An ad hoc joint committee is particular kind of committee, established to deal with a specific issue or piece of legislation that is of concern to two or more Assembly committees. The work of an ad hoc joint committee is time-bound. Membership of the ad hoc joint committee is made up of representatives from the relevant Assembly committees. It is established on a motion in Plenary, and will have a designated remit, terms of reference and timeframe.
- Assembly Committees
- Committees are groups of MLAs from different parties who look at specific subjects. There are three types of Assembly Committees:
- Statutory committees – examine the work of a minister and their department.
- Standing committees – undertake specific roles, mostly concerned with running the Assembly.
- Ad hoc committees – set up for a limited time to deal with a particular issue.
Each committee specialises in a particular area of work, as specified in Standing Orders. They usually meet in public session, and many meetings are broadcast live via the Assembly’s website. Committees publish the minutes of their proceedings, copies of evidence they receive, their forward work programme (FWP), and any committee reports they produce on the committee pages on the Assembly’s website.
C
- Call for Evidence
- When committees are considering legislation (bills and statutory rules) and conducting inquiries, they may ask organisations and members of the public for their views and comments. This is known as a call for evidence. Committees will advertise calls for evidence in newspapers, on the Assembly social media channels and on the Assembly website. View current and past Calls for Evidence by following this link.
- Committee Chairperson
- Chairpersons preside over their committees during committee meetings. MLAs are appointed or elected to preside over a committee. Chairpersons of committees are appointed in Plenary, broadly reflecting the party strength within the Assembly. An ad hoc committee appoints its own chairperson and deputy chairperson. A committee chairperson or deputy chairperson represents the committee’s view in Plenary debates, and can also represent the committee in public forums. The chairperson and deputy chairperson of a committee take a full part in the committee’s proceedings. When chairing the proceedings, they are responsible for the orderly and efficient progress of business. This includes:
- keeping order by upholding the standing orders and procedures governing the operation of the committee;
- encouraging conduct and behaviours conducive to the effective operation of the committee;
- controlling the meeting and retaining focus so that business is progressed within the available time;
- allowing all members to express their views;
- suspending proceedings to enable members to vote in a division in Plenary;
- ensuring that all decisions are properly taken and recorded; and
- ensuring that substantive items of business to be discussed / considered are placed on the agenda before a meeting rather than allowing them to be raised under matters arising or any other business.
- Helpful links to learn more about committee chairpersons:
- View the work of Committees
- View the Assembly Business Diary to find out when committees meet and the agendas of meetings
- Committee Report
- A committee report is a published written report presented to the Assembly with a committee’s findings and recommendations on a particular issue. This usually comes at the end of a committee inquiry or a Committee Stage of a Bill, however committees can report on any matters within their remit. Committee reports are published electronically and are available on the Committee’s webpages. Reports on a committee inquiry usually go on to be the subject of a committee-led debate in Plenary. Other reports, for example, those on the Committee Stage of a Bill or a report on a Legislative Consent Motion (LCM) are published to inform all MLAs in preparation for debate on Consideration Stage of a Bill Consideration Stage of a Bill or a Legislative Consent Motion, respectively. Committees also publish reports on their activities and achievements at the end of each Assembly session and at the end of the Assembly mandate.
- Helpful links to learn more about committee chairpersons:
- View the work of Committees
- View the Assembly Business Diary to find out when committees meet and the agendas of meetings
- Concurrent Committee
- When a specific issue or piece of legislation is of concern to two or more Assembly committees, these committees may meet together (concurrently) to deal with the matter, as if they were a single committee. Committees meeting concurrently are comprised of the members of the 2 or more committees concerned. Normal Assembly committee procedures apply to the committees meeting concurrently and they, for example, deliberate and consider any evidence together, produce a single set of minutes, and prepare any reports together.
- Helpful links to learn more about concurrent committees:
- View Standing Order 64B Matters of Joint Concern: Committees Sitting Concurrently
- View the work of Committees
- View the Assembly Business Diary to find out when committees meet and the agendas of meetings
- Committee Inquiry
- Inquiries are investigations, carried out by Assembly committees, into topics of interest to the committee or issues of concern to the people of Northern Ireland. Committee inquiries are guided by the inquiry's terms of reference, as agreed by the committee. During an inquiry, a committee may take written and oral evidence from government departments, stakeholders and the public. Committees report their findings to the Assembly. A committee will advertise its inquiry in newspapers and on the Assembly website.
- Helpful links to learn more about committee inquiries:
M
- Minutes of Proceedings (MOPs)
- The minutes of proceedings are the official record of the business considered and the decisions made at a meeting.
Q
- Quorum (Committee)
- Quorum is the minimum number of committee members required to be present at a committee meeting in order for committee business to take place. The quorum for statutory committees, and most standing committees, is 5 committee members. When no decisions are being made or questions put, then the quorum for these committees is 4 committee members. The quorum for the Audit Committee is set in Standing Orders at two committee members. The quorum for ad hoc committees varies, and is usually set out in the Plenary motion that establishes the ad hoc committee.
S
- Standing Committee
- Standing Committees are permanent committees in the Assembly, given powers/remits in Standing Orders. There are six Standing Committees (permanent committees), with specific roles and memberships assigned to them in Standing Orders:
- Committee on Procedures (Standing Order 54)
- Business Committee (Standing Order 55)
- Public Accounts Committee (Standing Order 56)
- Committee on Standards and Privileges (Standing Order 57)
- Audit Committee (Standing Order 58)
- Assembly and Executive Review Committee (Standing Order 59)
- View Standing Orders 51 – 52A relating to Standing Committees
- View the membership of the Standing committees
- View more information about the work of Committees
- View the Business Diary to find out when committees meet and the agendas of meetings
- Statuory Committees
- Statutory Committees are groups of MLAs who look at specific subjects such as health, education, justice, finance, infrastructure. Each Statutory Committee specialises in a particular area of work, for example a particular Northern Ireland Department, and has a membership of nine MLAs, from different political parties. Statutory committees are established at the start of each Assembly mandate to advise and assist ministers on matters within their ministerial responsibility. They examine proposed new laws and make suggestions for amendments, review the work of ministers and their departments, hold inquiries, carry out consultations, engage with stakeholders and the public and discuss issues relating to the work of the Assembly. They can also bring forward their own legislation (bills). Committees usually meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays at Parliament Buildings or in other locations. There are nine Statutory Committees which mirror the Executive departments:
- The Executive Office
- Finance
- Economy
- Communities
- Education
- Infrastructure
- Health
- Justice
- Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
- View the membership of the Statutory committees
- View more information about the work of Committees
- View the Business Diary to find out when committees meet and the agendas of meetings
- View Standing Order Section on Committees.
W
- Witness
- As part of its work, a committee can invite departmental officials, ministers, members of the public, organisations or experts to attend a formal meeting of the committee in order to provide the committee with view on specific topics. Giving views at a formal committee meeting in this way is called giving evidence, and those who give evidence to a committee are called witnesses. Read our guide for witnesses appearing before Assembly committees.
