Legacy Report 2017 - 2022
Session: Session currently unavailable
Date: 28 March 2022
Reference: NIA 200/17-22
Committee for Procedures - Legacy Report 2017 - 2022.pdf (352.32 kb)
Contents
List of abbreviations and acronyms used in the report
Remit, Powers and Membership of the Committee
Suggested Issues for the Successor Committee
Appendix 1 – Committee on Procedures
Appendix 2 – Mandate facts and figures
Committee Inquiries / Reviews / Micro inquiries
Committee Motions Debated in Plenary (excluding Inquiries / Reviews / Membership changes)
Appendix 3 - Expenditure for the period 1 September 2017 – 25 March 2022
List of abbreviations and acronyms used in the report
The Assembly: Northern Ireland Assembly
The Committee: Committee on Procedures
EU: European Union
HoC: House of Commons
LCM: Legislative Consent Motion
MLA: Member of the Legislative Assembly
NDNA: New Decade, New Approach
PMB: Private Members’ Bill
RaISe: Research and Information Services
ToR: Terms of Reference
SO(s): Standing Order(s)
Remit, Powers and Membership of the Committee
Powers
The Committee on Procedures is a Standing Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly established in accordance with paragraph 10 of Strand One of the Belfast Agreement and under Assembly Standing Order 54.
The Committee has power to:
- Consider and review, on an ongoing basis, the Standing Orders and procedures of the Assembly;
- Initiate inquiries and publish reports;
- Republish Standing Orders annually; and
- Call for persons and papers.
Membership
The Committee has 9 members, including a Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, and a quorum of five members. The membership of the Committee is as follows:
For the January 2020 – March 2022 period of the mandate, the members were:
- Ms Carál Ní Chuilín MLA (Chairperson)[1] [2] [3]
- Mr Tom Buchanan MLA (Deputy Chairperson)
- Ms Rosemary Barton MLA
- Ms Sinéad Bradley MLA
- Ms Nicola Brogan MLA[4]
- Ms Joanne Bunting MLA[5]
- Mr Gerry Carroll MLA
- Ms Ciara Ferguson MLA[6] [7] [8]
- Mr William Humphrey MLA[9] [10] [11] [12]
Review of 2017 – 2022 Mandate
Scrutiny
1. The Committees on Procedures ("the Committee") for the period 2017-2022 mandate, was established when the institutions resumed in early 2020. One of the first tasks for the Committee was to identify its strategic priorities and agree a forward work programme for the remainder of the mandate.
2. The Committee received a briefing on the list of outstanding issues for its consideration which remained from the 2016-2017 pre-dissolution period. These included work in relation to arrangements for an Official Opposition, E-Petitions and PMBs. As 2020 progressed a number of further priorities emerged for the Committee stemming from the New Decade, the New Approach (NDNA) deal, and as a consequence of EU exit, new Westminster legislation and, not least, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inquiries
Inquiry into LCMs
4. In the months which followed the Committee considered a broad range of evidence in relation to this inquiry, augmented by a number of specifically targeted research reports, in order that the Committee could analyse the direct evidence of the issues it was hearing evidence on. The Committee agreed its final report on 28 February 2022, which made 7 recommendations for amendments to both the practice and the arrangements for managing LCMs at the Assembly which would enhance the ability of the Assembly to carry out its scrutiny and bring more transparency to the processes.
5. The report and the recommendations were agreed by the Assembly on 14 March 2022. The recommendations included proposals to amend the existing Standing Order 42A which has made provision for the handling of LCMs since 2012. Given the timing of the publication of this Committee's inquiry report, it will be for the next Committee on Procedures to develop and bring forward the specific amendments to SO 42A, as soon as practicable.
To read more on the Committee's Inquiry into Legislative Consent Motions, see here.
Inquiry into Private Members' Bills (PMBs)
7. When the Assembly resumed in 2020, the Speaker wrote to the Committee on Procedures in 2020 advising that he had published updated guidance for Members on the support available for PMBs for 2020-22. In this letter, the Speaker asked the Committee to consider returning to the issue of a review of the PMB system, in order that any further improvements could be put in place after the 2022 Assembly election. The Committee therefore carried out an inquiry, and agreed its final report on 28 February 2022, making 7 recommendations for changes which could be implemented in order to both support and develop the handling of PMBs at the Assembly. These included a number of changes to be set out in Standing Orders, the specific parameters of which will also be for the next Committee on Procedures to develop and bring forward.
To read more on the Committee's Inquiry into Private Members' Bills, see here.
Inquiry into how the Assembly handles Topical Issues – (now) Members' Statements
9. Although work on this paused as the Committee focussed on bringing forward Temporary Provisions to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Speaker remained keen for the Committee to examine the feasibility of introducing a new category of business. The Speaker told the Committee that "An item of business for Members' Statements would address the issue of the Assembly being unable to note such topical matters and might reduce the need to give thirty minutes of Assembly time to an individual issue under a Matter of the Day or an Urgent Question."
10. Following a series of meetings in the Spring-Summer of 2021, the Committee narrowed down the purpose, frequency, duration and handling arrangements for Members' Statements and agreed that a new Standing Order should be implemented to make provision for them. The Committee agreed its report on Members' Statements on 23 June 2021 and the Assembly agreed on 05 July 2021 to put in place the new Standing Order 24A which reflected the Committee's conclusions.
11. Members' Statements were scheduled for the first time on 13 September 2021. Since then, they have become a regular feature of Assembly business, usually being scheduled on a weekly basis.
12. To read more on the Committee's Inquiry into Members' Statements, see here.
Reviews
Temporary Provisions
14. Further to requests from the Business Committee and the Chairpersons' Liaison Group, the Committee prepared Temporary Provisions, in the form of Standing Orders 110 – 116. These temporary provisions enabled proxy voting in plenary sittings; the wholesale introduction of remote participation in committee proceedings (either in fully virtual or hybrid committee meetings); proxy voting in committees; and decision making by committees without meeting. On 31 March 2020 the Assembly agreed to put in place these temporary provisions, initially until 30 September 2020.
15. The Committee kept these temporary provisions under review and, given that the pandemic had endured, sought and received the Assembly's agreement on 3 occasions (29 September 2020, 16 January 2021, and 15 June 2021) to extend their application. As the mandate approached its end the Committee recommended that the provisions be further extended into the next mandate until July 2022, for immediate review by the incoming Committee on Procedures and this was agreed by the Assembly on 14 March 2022.
Hybrid Proceedings
17. The Committee agreed that hybrid proceedings should be implemented to not only accommodate those Members who could not come to the Chamber because they were self-isolating, but also to reduce the number of Members needing to travel to Parliament Buildings, concluding that any Member should be able to avail of hybrid proceedings. The Committee brought forward a new temporary Standing Order (110A) to allow for the general principle of remote participation in plenary, subject to the discretion and guidance of the Speaker. This was agreed by the Assembly on 1st February 2021.
Making Provision in Standing Orders for an Official Opposition
As 2021 progressed, a response was sought from the Committee by the AERC in relation to its inquiry on the Independent Review of the adequacy and effectiveness of the Statement of Entitlements for an Official Opposition. That Review and the AERC Report also arose directly from the NDNA deal. Once the AERC report and recommendations were agreed by the Assembly, the Committee set to work on reviewing a range of Standing Orders which made provision for Official Opposition. This work was complex and technical, requiring legal advice in relation to the majority of the changes proposed. The Committee agreed 10 motions for changes to SOs covering Statements, Questions, Speaking Rights and Committee Membership. The majority of these were agreed by the Assembly on 1st March 2022, with the exception of those relating to Questions (amendments to SOs 20, 20A and 20B).
Simultaneous Interpretation of Assembly Business into Irish and Ulster Scots
20. The Committee, following consideration, agreed that it was not necessary to change Standing Orders in order to deliver this commitment. Following a number of meetings with Assembly Commission officials who provided information on costs and options for consideration, the Committee agreed to table a Motion to require the Assembly Commission to make provision for the Simultaneous Interpretation of Assembly Business into Irish and Ulster Scots, undertaking any required infrastructural work to support this. An amendment to the Committee's motion was agreed by the Assembly leading to the following resolution:
That this Assembly notes the provision in paragraph 5.21.2 of 'New Decade, New Approach', to allow any person to conduct their business before the Assembly or an Assembly Committee through Irish or Ulster Scots; further notes that a simultaneous translation system will be made available in the Assembly to ensure that a person without Irish or Ulster Scots is not placed at a disadvantage; and, as provided for in section 40(5) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, directs the Assembly Commission, where there is appropriate demand and subject to review after six months, to provide a simultaneous and passive system for interpretation in the Assembly that is capable of supporting one meeting at any one time; and calls on the Assembly Commission to make any other arrangements as may be necessary for the operation of such a system.
21. It is expected that this simultaneous interpretation system will be in place for the start of the next mandate.
Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petition of Concern) 2022 Act
23. The Committee had tracked the progress of this Bill as it made its passage through Parliament, recognising that its enactment would require standing orders to be amended. The Committee sent an issues paper to parties which set out a number of decisions that would need to be taken arising from the legislation and before any new or amended standing orders could be brought forward for the Assembly's agreement.
24. The Committee did not receive responses to the issues paper in sufficient time to allow it to bring forward new Standing Orders addressing the issues the NI (MEPoC) Act 2022 in time for the start of the next mandate.
Section 6A Consent Decisions
26. These provisions gave UK Ministers the power to make regulations, for up to two years after exit day (31 January 2020), which would restrict the Assembly's legislative powers, and the power of NI Ministers or departments, to modify retained EU law. They also provided that any regulations made under these powers will expire five years after they come into force. In May 2021 the Committee agreed to seek the views of the Executive, the Business Committee and the CLG on whether or not a formal procedure was needed in the Assembly. In December 2021, noting that the relevant timeframes in relation to making regulations under these powers had almost expired, Committee agreed that it was content to take no further action on this issue.
Approach
Informal meetings
The second meeting, was an in-person meeting, in Parliament Buildings with members of both the HoC and Assembly Committees, which took place on Wednesday 23 February 2022. Discussions covered the topics of the procedural arrangements to better support LCMs, Inter-Parliamentary working and proxy voting.
Visits and External meetings
There were no visits by the Committee during the 2020-22 period of the mandate, mostly as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that social distancing and health protection regulations were in place during almost all of the period of the report
Suggested Issues for the Successor Committee
27. The Committee has noted and acknowledged the importance of a number of issues which it considers its successor may wish to take forward. These are:
Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petition of Concern) 2022 Act
28. The successor Committee shall wish to return to the issue of the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petition of Concern) 2022 Act and the standing orders that must be put in place to give effect to its provisions.
Review of the Temporary Provisions in Standing Orders
29. The Committee agreed the most recent extension to the Temporary Provisions on the basis that it would recommend to its successor Committee that it might wish to consider an immediate review of the arrangements in advance of Summer recess 2022. For this reason the date of the end of July 2022 was agreed as an interim position.
Amendments to SOs: LCM and PMB Inquiry Reports
30. At the end of the mandate the Assembly agreed the recommendations made in the Committee's Inquiry reports for LCMs and PMBs. Both reports made seven recommendations each, a smaller number of which referred directly to changes which the House agreed should be made to Standing Orders. These were:
LCMs: Standing Order 42A should be amended to include explicit provision for;
- a Minster to lay a memorandum before the Assembly, normally within 10 working days, where a relevant Bill has been introduced to Parliament and where the Minister has not yet taken any decision on whether to ask the Assembly to give its consent. This will remove any doubt on the part of Ministers that such an approach can and should be taken.
- In those exceptional circumstances in which it is not possible to lay a memorandum within 10 working days, any memorandum should be laid as soon as possible thereafter and should set out the reasons why the normal deadline of 10 working days was not met.
- more flexibility in relation to timescales for committees (where this is possible) based on the planned timescale for the passage for the specific Bill through Parliament.
PMBs: The following provisions should be set out in Standing Orders to better support the introduction and management of PMBs in the Assembly;
- a final deadline for a PMB to be introduced to the Assembly be set in Standing Orders, for the end of June of the penultimate session of the mandate.
- A Member wishing to introduce a PMB which has been "privately-drafted" should be required to:
(a) undertake mandatory public consultation (parameters in similar terms as Bill supported by the Unit); and
(b) have communicated the policy objectives and scope of the proposal to the relevant Department before they are submitted to the Speaker for consideration.
- Provision for an annual debate on the Executive legislative timetable, implementing section 15(3) of The Assembly and Executive Reform (Assembly Opposition) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016.
Petitions and E-Petitions
31. The Committee acknowledged in September 2021 that developing and bringing forward proposals for introducing an E-Petitions facility in the Assembly would be a significant project, which would likely require in excess of one year to complete. Given that the Committee already had a full schedule of work for completion before the end of the mandate, it was therefore agreed to refer to this topic in the legacy report as a potential priority for any successor Committee on Procedures, for consideration early in the new mandate.
32. In addition, in 2021 the Business Committee wrote to the Committee ask it to consider undertaking a Review of Petitions, expressing a number of concerns about current practice. At that time, the Committee corresponded with the Business Committee, expressing that it had already agreed its strategic priorities for completion in this mandate. The successor Committee may wish to consider revisiting a review of Petitions.
Proxy Voting (SO 27(11))
33. The Committee commenced a review of the permanent arrangements for Proxy Voting in SO 27(11) in 2020. Overtaken by other priorities (and because temporary proxy voting arrangements were in place as a consequence of the COVID-19 public health advice), the Committee agreed that the existing provision should be extended to include long-term sickness and parental leave, with the specific criteria to be developed by the next Committee on Procedures, in the new mandate. The Committee also agreed to recommend that a full review of proxy voting should be undertaken in the next mandate, including other potential circumstances in which proxy voting might be appropriate.
Electronic Voting
34. The Committee commissioned research in relation to Electronic Voting and acknowledged the need to establish the scale and scope of any potential preferred system for the Assembly. However, the Committee only began to look at this topic in 2021 in response to correspondence from the Speaker. The Committee received a briefing from RaISe on the issue, which gave members an understanding of the scale of any such project, (including establishing the procedural rules which would be needed to support its implementation). The Committee therefore agreed that this was a significant piece of work which it would not be able to complete in the time remaining in the mandate, agreeing that it be added to the potential topics for consideration for a successor Committee.
Other EU Exit Related Issues
35. The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (Democratic Consent Process) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 were made by the Secretary of State in December 2020. These regulations amend the NI Act 1998 and, in doing so, implement in domestic law the mechanism for obtaining democratic consent in Northern Ireland to the continued application of Articles 5 to 10 of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland to the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
36. These regulations make reference to the standing orders of the Assembly. There may also be other issues arising from EU exit which require new SOs. Consequently, the successor Committee may wish to seek further advice in relation to these matters.
CLG Report on Strengthening Committee Scrutiny
37. On 16 March 2022, at the final meeting of for the Committee, members noted a memo which highlighted five recommendations from a draft CLG report on the issue of Strengthening Committee Scrutiny, which are specifically addressed to the Committee on Procedures. Having reviewed these, the Committee agreed to refer to these in the legacy report as possible areas of work that the successor Committee on Procedures might wish to consider when undertaking strategic planning in the next mandate.
Appendix 1
The Committee has 9 members. The membership of the Committee throughout the current mandate was as follows:
- Ms Carál Ní Chuilín MLA (Chairperson)[1] [2] [3]
- Mr Tom Buchanan MLA (Deputy Chairperson)
- Ms Rosemary Barton MLA
- Ms Sinéad Bradley MLA
- Ms Nicola Brogan MLA[4]
- Ms Joanne Bunting MLA[5]
- Mr Gerry Carroll MLA
- Ms Ciara Ferguson MLA[6] [7] [8]
- Mr William Humphrey MLA[9] [10] [11] [12]
Appendix 2 – Mandate facts and figures
Committee meetings & visits
Session |
Number of meetings held |
Percentage minutes public / closed |
Number of meetings held outside Parliament Buildings |
Number of committee visits |
2019/2020 |
5 |
Public – 59.51% Closed – 40.49% |
0 |
0 |
2020/2021 |
19 |
Public – 72.5% Closed – 27.5% |
0 |
0 |
2021/2022 |
10 |
Public – 68.59% Closed – 30.89%
|
0 |
0 |
Committee Inquiries / Reviews / Micro inquiries
Session |
Name of report |
Committee Report (ordered to publish) |
Date debated in Plenary (if applicable) |
2019/2020 |
|
|
|
2020/2021 |
Inquiry into Members Statements |
23 June 2021 |
5 July 2021 |
2021/2022 |
Inquiry into Private Members’ Bills Inquiry into Legislative Consent Motions |
28 February 2022
28 February 2022 |
15 March 2022
15 March 2022 |
Committee Motions Debated in Plenary (excluding Inquiries / Reviews / Membership changes)
Session |
Motion |
Date debated in Plenary |
2019/2020 |
Amend Standing Orders Amend Standing Order 49(2)(a) and 52(2)(a) |
31 March 2020 23 March 2020 |
2020/2021 |
Amend Standing Order 10 New Standing Order 24A Amend Standing Order 110 Simultaneous Interpretation of Assembly Business in Irish and Ulster Scots, as set out in New Decade, New Approach Amend Standing Order 112 Amend Standing Order 110 Amend Standing Order 110 Amend Standing Order 45A Amend Standing Order 110 |
5 July 2021 5 July 2021 15 June 2021
15 June 2021 8 March 2021 1 February 2021 26 January 2021 13 October 2020 29 September 2020 |
2021/2022 |
Amend Standing Order 110 Amend Standing Order 3 Amend Standing Order 4 Amend Standing Order 12 Amend Standing Order 18A Amend Standing Order 20 Amend Standing Order 20A Amend Standing Order 20B Amend Standing Order 45A Amend Standing Order 49(2) |
14 March 2022 14 March 2022 14 March 2022 1 March 2022 1 March 2022 1 March 2022 1 March 2022 1 March 2022 1 March 2022 1 March 2022 |
Witnesses
Session |
Number of Organisations who gave evidence to the committee |
2019/2020 |
1 |
2020/2021 |
3 |
2021/2022 |
1 |
Appendix 3 - Expenditure for the period 1 September 2017 – 25 March 2022
Budget area |
Details |
Expenditure |
Committee Travel - committee members and staff travel and subsistence in relation to visits and meetings outside Parliament Buildings |
|
£0 |
Printing of Standing Orders |
|
£8534.00 |
External Consultancy |
Includes costs associated with committee use of external consultants to assist in consideration of legislation, inquiries, etc. |
£0 |
General expenses |
Cost of refreshments for committee meetings, committee events, working lunches, seminars, room hire, witness expenses, and conference fees for members etc. |
£160.92 |
All budget areas |
All details |
£8694.92 |
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Committee on Procedures
Contact: emer.boyle@niassembly.gov.uk
Northern Ireland Assembly
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Telephone: 028 90521678
Email: committee.procedures@niassembly.gov.uk
[1] Mr John O’Dowd joined the Committee on Monday 21 September 2020
[2] Ms Carál Ní Chuilín replaced Mr John O’Dowd as a Member of the Committee on Monday 18 January 2021
[3] From 20 January 2021 Ms Carál Ní Chuilín replaced Ms Linda Dillon as the Chairperson of the Committee
[4] Ms Catherine Kelly left the Committee on Tuesday 3 November 2020 and was replaced by Ms Nicola Brogan on Monday 30 November 2020
[5] From 21 June 2021 Ms Joanne Bunting replaced Mr Maurice Bradley as a member of the Committee
[6] Ms Linda Dillon resigned as Chairperson of the Committee on Procedures on 20 January 2021
[7] Ms Linda Dillon re-joined the Committee on Monday 1 February 2021
[8] From 27 September 2021, Ms Ciara Ferguson replaced Ms Linda Dillon as a member of the Committee
[9] Mr Harry Harvey left the Committee on 17 February 2020 and was replaced by Mr Gary Middleton
[10] From 22 February 2021, Ms Paula Bradley replaced Mr Gary Middleton as a member of the Committee
[11] From 22 March 2021, Mr Gary Middleton replaced Ms Paula Bradley as a member of the Committee
[12] From 21 June 2021, Mr William Humphrey replaced Mr Gary Middleton as a member of the Committee