FOI 20-26: A request for records relating to the legislative scrutiny of the Assembly Members (Independent Financial Review and Standards) Act

Information Standards Freedom of Information Response

Our ref: FOI 20-26
7 July 2026

Freedom of Information Act 2000

The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 23 March 2026 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Your request, which is set out in full at Appendix 1, concerns the development of the Bill enacted as the Assembly Members (Independent Financial Review and Standards) Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (the Bill).

We apologise for the delay in this response, which required review of a significant volume of material by this office. 

 

Our response

The Assembly Commission holds information relevant to your request. Much of that information is exempt from disclosure under section 21 of the FOIA, as it is reasonably accessible to you through links on the Assembly website. We have provided links to this information below with reference to the headings in your request.   

Some of the information you have sought is exempt from disclosure under section 36 of the FOIA (prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs) and some information is exempt from disclosure under section 42 of the FOIA (legal professional privilege). This is explained further below. 

 

(1)  Hansard Records

2. Committee for Finance and Personnel Records

 

 

3. Explanatory Financial Memorandum

  • The Explanatory and Financial Memoranda for the Bill as introduced, and the Bill as amended, are available here.

 

4. Bill Office Legislative Timeline and Procedural Records

The dates of each legislative stage

  • These are available here.

 

Any requests for accelerated passage:

  • There was no request for accelerated passage.

 

Any suspensions of Standing Orders

  • Any request for the suspension of standing orders is recorded in the Hansard report for the relevant Bill stage (see (1) above).

 

Any procedural decisions that affected the speed or scrutiny of the Bill

  • The process leading to the enactment of the Bill is set out here.  

 

Any amendments tabled (whether accepted or rejected)

  • The amendments are available at the previous link. Whether or not an amendment was made is recorded in the Official Report for the relevant Bill stage (see (1) above).

 

5. Internal Briefing Notes or advice

  • Consultation papers which informed the development of the Bill are attached at Appendix 2. Further information on the policy development of the Bill and the preparation of the Bill by legal draftspersons is exempt from disclosure under section 36 and 42 of the FOIA, as next discussed.

 

Section 36 FOIA

Section 36(2) of the FOIA provides (so far as relevant) as follows—

       ‘Information to which this section applies is exempt information if, in the reasonable opinion of a qualified person, disclosure of the information under this Act—

(a)…

(b) would, or would be likely to, inhibit—

(i) the free and frank provision of advice, or

(ii) the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation, or

(c) would otherwise prejudice, or would be likely otherwise to prejudice, the effective conduct of public affairs.’

 

The qualified person in the case of the Assembly Commission is the Presiding Officer (Speaker) of the Northern Ireland Assembly. In this case, the Speaker has formed the reasonable opinion that—

  • Disclosure of the information requested would be likely to inhibit the ability of Assembly Commission staff to express themselves fully and frankly and in developing advice to the Assembly Commission on legislation. 
  • Disclosure of the information would inhibit the ability of Assembly Commission staff   to offer the Assembly Commission a full range of advice on proposed amendments.  

 

Section 36 is a qualified exemption, and the Assembly Commission has considered whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption is outweighed by the public interest in disclosure.

 

In considering the public interest test on this information, the Assembly Commission has identified the following points relevant to maintaining the exemption —

  • It is important that the Assembly Commission has access to robust, impartial and independent advice on the development of policy and the enactment of legislation. The frankness of such advice would be inhibited by the possibility of its future disclosure.
  • Disclosure of the information would inhibit the ability of Assembly Commission officials to engage fully with the deliberative process underpinning development of policy and the enactment of legislation. This is particularly important given that legislation may be politically controversial.
  • The public may play a full role in the enactment of legislation through responding to consultations on policy development, making submissions to Assembly committees, and lobbying elected representatives. Deliberations on and modifications to the text of legislation are manifestly public, being broadcast and included in the Official Report. The publication of pre-introductory material would not make any material difference to public engagement with the legislative process, while having the deleterious effects identified in the previous two points. 
  • The view of the Speaker on such matters must be given appropriate weight, given his statutory functions under the FOIA and the Northern Ireland Act 1998 

 

The factors in favour of disclosing the information are:

  • Assembly Commission officials would still provide advice and give their view regardless of whether that advice will be disclosed as this is part of their job.
  • The disclosure of advice on development of policy and the enactment of legislation would allow the public better to understand the development of policy and legislation.

 

The Assembly Commission is satisfied that that the public interest in maintaining the exemptions at section 36(2)(b)(i) and (ii) in this case outweigh the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

Section 42 FOIA

Section 42(1) FOIA provides—

‘Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege or, in Scotland, to confidentiality of communications could be maintained in legal proceedings is exempt information.’

Legal advice provided to the Assembly Commission is subject to legal professional privilege (‘LPP’), in this case legal advice privilege. Communications between the Assembly Commission and its legal advisers, including the agents appointed to draft the Bill, have been withheld.

LPP applies to confidential communications between the client and lawyer, made for the dominant purpose of seeking or giving legal advice. The Assembly Commission is satisfied that section 42(1) of the FOIA is engaged and applies to the withheld information.

Section 42 is a qualified exemption, and the Assembly Commission has considered the public interest in maintaining the exemption against the public interest in disclosure of the legal advice.

The Assembly Commission notes the public interest in transparency and access to advice which informs decision making and policy development. Against this, there is a strong inherent public interest in protecting and safeguarding openness in all communications between client and lawyer to ensure access to full and frank legal advice. The Information Commissioner has noted that ‘a weakening of the confidence that parties have that legal advice will remain confidential undermines the ability of parties to seek advice and conduct litigation appropriately and thus erodes the rule of law and the individual rights it guarantees’ (IC-296549-B8N1).

The Assembly Commission is satisfied that the public interest in disclosing the privileged information is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption under section 42(1).

 

Further Information

You may request an internal review of this decision by the Assembly Commission. If you wish to request such a review, please write to me at the above address. If, after that review, you are dissatisfied with the way in which the Assembly Commission has handled your request for information, you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Your request for information and our response may be published in the disclosure log maintained by the Assembly Commission under a publication scheme agreed with the ICO. The request and our response will be anonymised. 

Yours sincerely

INFORMATION STANDARDS

 

Appendix 1:  Your Request

‘Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am requesting access to the following records relating to the development, scrutiny, and passage of the Assembly Members (Independent Financial Review and Standards) Act (Northern Ireland) 2011

I am seeking these records to understand the legislative scrutiny applied to the Bill, including any consideration of oversight, audit, or accountability mechanisms for the Independent Financial Review Panel (now the Independent Remuneration Board).

Please provide the following:

1. Hansard Records (Pre-2014 Archive)

All plenary debate transcripts for each legislative stage of the Bill, including:

  • First Stage
  • Second Stage
  • Committee Stage (plenary elements)
  • Consideration Stage
  • Further Consideration Stage
  • Final Stage

If these are held in PDF, scanned, or archived formats, please provide them in any available form.

2. Committee for Finance and Personnel Records

All records held by the Committee that relate to scrutiny of the Bill, including:

  • Minutes of meetings where the Bill was discussed
  • Any evidence sessions (oral or written)
  • Committee reports or draft reports
  • Internal briefing papers prepared for the Committee
  • Correspondence between the Committee and the Bill Office, Assembly Commission, or  external bodies regarding the Bill

3. Explanatory and Financial Memorandum (EFM)

A copy of the EFM that accompanied the Bill at introduction, including any revised versions.

4. Bill Office Legislative Timeline and Procedural Records

Documents showing:

  • The dates of each legislative stage
  • Any requests for accelerated passage
  • Any suspensions of Standing Orders
  • Any procedural decisions that affected the speed or scrutiny of the Bill
  • Any amendments tabled (whether accepted or rejected)

5. Internal Briefing Notes or Advice

Any briefing papers, notes, or internal correspondence held by the Assembly Secretariat, Bill

Office, or Assembly Commission that relate to:

  • The governance model proposed for the Independent Financial Review Panel
  • Consideration of audit, oversight, or accountability mechanisms
  • Decisions to include or exclude scrutiny by the NIAO or Assembly Commission’