Committees of the Northern Ireland Assembly
What is a committee?
Committees are groups of MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) who look at specific subjects such as health, education, justice and more. Committee members come from different political parties.
Committees:
- hold the Northern Ireland Executive (the government) to account
- hold inquiries
- ask for your views
- examine bills (proposed laws) and decide on amendments (changes)
- introduce their own bills
Committees have a remit which says what areas they are responsible for. Committees can look at anything in their remit.
Read more about Assembly Committees and how they work >>
Northern Ireland Assembly Committees 2022-2027
Follow the work of Assembly Committees during the 2022-2027 mandate:
Inquiries, Consultations and Calls for Evidence - Have your say
As part of their regular scrutiny duties, Committees may ask stakeholders and members of the public for their views and submissions on a particular subject or piece of legislation.
This is a chance for you to have your say and help Committees with their work.
We have a dedicated Citizen Space hub for our consultations which you can visit to see what is currently being consulted upon.
You can check out current calls for evidence below:
Please note that these consultation links will take you to our Citizen Space site.
- Education Committee would like to hear your views on the School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill (deadline for comments is Tuesday 13 May 2025)
- Communities Committee would like to hear your views on the Sign Language Bill (deadline for comments is Friday 18 April 2025)
- Public Accounts Committee Inquiry into Access to General Practice in Northern Ireland (survey closes Thursday 27 March 2025) [EXTERNAL LINK]
- Committee for Justice would like to hear your views on the Justice Bill (survey closes Friday 21 March 2025) [EXTERNAL LINK]
- Ad Hoc Committee on the Assembly Members (Remuneration Board) Bill would like to hear your views on the Assembly Members (Remuneration Board) Bill (survey closes Wednesday 19 March 2025) [EXTERNAL LINK]
View the status of all our consultations by visiting our Citizen Space hub hompage [EXTERNAL LINK]
You can also view previous calls for evidence on our Citizen Space 'Find activities' page [EXTERNAL LINK]
Guidance for witnesses and submitting evidence
The guidance information below is useful for providing eveidence to an Assembly Committee.
This may be in the event of replying to a consultation on an inquiry or on legislation that a Committee is scrutinising. It may even be in the event that you have been called to provide evidence to a Committee.
The guidance lets you know what to expect, how best to make your contribution, and who to contact if you have any questions.
Northern Ireland Assembly Committees 2017-2022
Northern Ireland Assembly Committees 2016-2017
Information about the work of the Northern Ireland Assembly Committees during the 2016-2017 Mandate.
Northern Ireland Assembly Committees 2011-2016
Information about the work of the Northern Ireland Assembly Committees during the 2011-2016 Mandate.
Northern Ireland Assembly Committees - Earlier Mandates
- Committees during the 2007 - 2011 (this link redirects to the Assembly archive website)
- Committees during the first Mandate (this link redirects to the Assembly archive website)
Statutory Committees
Section 29(1)(a) of the Northern Ireland Act (1998) requires that Standing Orders 'make provision for establishing committees of Members of the Assembly (statutory committees) to advise and assist each Northern Ireland minister in the formulation of policy with respect to matters within his/her responsibilities as a minister'.
Standing Committees
The Northern Ireland Act 1998 and Assembly Standing Orders numbers 51, 52 and 54 to 59 provide for the establishment of standing committees.
Standing committees are permanent committees of the Assembly and have specific roles assigned to them within Standing Orders.
Follow the Assembly Committees on Twitter
Follow our Committees on Twitter for all the latest on the issues affecting Northern Ireland and the work the Committees are overseeing...
- Committee for Education (@NIACfEd)
- Committee for the Executive Office (@NIAEOCttee)
- Public Accounts Committee (@NIA_PAC)
- Committee for Justice (@NIAJusticeComm)
- Committee for Health (@niahealth)
- Committee for Communities (@NIA_Communities)
- Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (@NIAAgriEnvRA)
- Committee for Finance (@NIAFinance)
- Committee for Infrastructure (@NIAInfra)
- Committee for the Economy (@NIAEconomy)
- Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee (@NIA_DSC)
Privacy Notice for Assembly Committees
Assembly Committees may handle your personal information if you provide evidence to a Committee during a meeting, provide a written submission to an inquiry or call for evidence, or participate in a Committee event.
The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and any personal information you provide is protected and used in line with data protection legislation.
For full details, please read the Privacy Notice for Assembly Committees.
