Commonwealth Parliamentary Association - Northern Ireland Assembly Branch
Annual General Meeting - Minutes of Proceedings 30 November 2021
Present:
Mr William Humphrey MLA, Chair
Mr Harry Harvey MLA
Mr Robin Newton MLA
Mr Steve Aiken MLA
Ms Joanne Bunting MLA
Mr Mervyn Storey MLA
Ms Paula Bradley MLA
Mr Maurice Bradley MLA
Mr Jonathan Buckley MLA
Mr David Hilditch MLA
Mr Stephen Dunne MLA
Mr Stewart Dickson MLA
Mr Jim Wells MLA
Ms Michelle McIlveen MLA (Virtually)
Mr Paul Frew MLA
Mr Thomas Buchanan MLA
Mr George Robinson MLA
Mr Edwin Poots MLA
Mr Trevor Clarke MLA
Mr Keith Buchanan MLA
Mr Paul Givan MLA
Apologies:
Roy Beggs MLA
Andrew Muir MLA
Alan Chambers MLA
Chris Lyttle MLA
Doug Beattie MLA
Mike Nesbitt MLA
Naomi Long MLA
Robbie Butler MLA
In attendance:
Mr Simon Burrowes, Head of Public Engagement (CPA Branch Secretary)
Ms Louise Close, Engagement Manager
Ms Nicola Crawford, Parliamentary Engagement Co-Ordinator (Minutes)
Ms Emma Steele, Engagement Office
1. APOLOGIES
The Chair welcomed Members of the CPA NIA Branch to the meeting and agreed that apologies would be reflected in the minutes of the meeting.
2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Minutes of previous Annual General Meeting, held on 18th June 2020, were agreed.
3. BRANCH ACTIVITIES
The Chair advised that the Executive Committee’s report on activities of the Branch were available at Tab 2 in the meeting pack.
Activities of note this year were:
(i) BIMR Conference
The Chair stated that, from 20th – 23rd September 2021, CPA Northern Ireland Assembly Branch hosted the 50th annual BIMR Conference in Belfast.
38 parliamentarians representing 11 of the 13 regional branches were given the opportunity to share ideas and exchange good practice.
The theme of the conference was ‘Post-Pandemic Parliaments’ and looked at the impact the pandemic has had on parliaments and how they function.
Excellent feedback was received from all who attended and this feedback can be found at Tab 3 in meeting packs.
Various members then congratulated the Executive Committee on the conference and thanked the staff from the Engagement Team who organised the conference. They stated how valuable it was hosting such a high-profile conference in Northern Ireland; promoting the country and allowing members to make important connections.
(ii) Partnership with CPA Gibraltar
The Chair updated members on the partnership with Gibraltar. He advised that Gibraltar was chosen due to the considerable historic linkage between the two countries. With the benefits of such a partnership being:
- Discussion of similar issues / experiences;
- Sharing of information where necessary;
- Mutual benefit where the ‘partner’ legislatures would be able to help each other with shared experiences;
- Ideally delegates, where possible, should be able to travel to each legislature for relationship building initially and then study visits.
A first meeting with the Gibraltar delegates was held at the BIMR Conference to discuss the partnership and this has been followed up with a letter to the Gibraltar Branch to discuss the first steps in the partnership.
(iii) Conferences/Training
The Chair advised that CPA members had attended the following conferences and training courses:
- CPA UK Commonwealth Parliamentary Forum on Climate Change;
- Annual BIMR Conference;
- CPA Election Monitoring mission in Isle of Man;
- Election Observation Training.
Mr Wells reported to Members on the Climate Change Forum and Mr Dickson reported on the Election Observation Mission in the Isle of Man.
4. CHANGE TO BRANCH RULES
Members agreed to change the quorum for an Executive Committee meeting from the Chair plus three to the Chair plus two.
5. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
-
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
The Chair suggested to Members that a tree should be planted in the grounds of the Stormont Estate to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next year. Members agreed to the suggestion.
-
Christmas Reception
The Chair suggested holding a Christmas Reception for CPA Members and invited guests to mark the work of the CPA in 2021. Members agreed to hold the reception.
6. NEXT MEETING
The next Annual General Meeting will take place in June 2022, date and room to be confirmed.
The Chair thanked Members for attending and then adjourned the meeting.
William Humphrey MLA
Chair
