Ad Hoc Committee on the School Uniforms (Trousers) Bill

Minister of proceedings Tuesday 22 September 2026

Ad Hoc Committee on the School Uniforms (Trousers) Bill minutes of proceedings Tuesday 22 September 2026.pdf (133.27 kb)

Meeting Location: Room 29

Present:                

Aoife Finnegan MLA (Chairperson)

Pam Cameron MLA (Deputy Chairperson)

Deborah Erskine MLA

Andrew McMurray MLA

Emma Sheerin MLA

John Stewart MLA

Apologies:            

None.

In Attendance:                           

Marie Austin, Clerk

Jessica Jacques, Senior Assistant Clerk

Oliver Bellew, Assistant Clerk

Lisa Chestnutt, Clerical Supervisor

Kate Anderson, Clerical Officer

Damien Brown, Clerical Officer

The meeting commenced at 1:03pm in closed session.

1. Apologies

As above.

2. Declaration of Interests

None.

3. School Uniforms (Trousers) Bill - Oral Briefing from the Bill Office

Stephen Orme, Bill Clerk, Assembly Bill Office, joined the meeting at 1.08pm.

The Bill Clerk briefed the Committee on drafting and procedural matters in relation to the Bill.

A question and answer session followed.

The Bill Clerk left the meeting at 1.22pm.

The Committee moved into public session at 1.22pm.

4. Draft Minutes

Agreed: The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 15 September 2026.

5. Matters Arising

The Committee noted a response from the Northern Ireland Youth Assembly to its letter thanking the Youth Assembly members for the evidence they provided on the Bill.

6. School Uniforms (Trousers) Bill – Committee Deliberations

The Committee considered a response from the Bill Sponsor (the Committee for Education) regarding the Department of Education's written evidence on the Bill.

The Committee conducted its deliberations on all the evidence received.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to publish the written evidence and the format in which it should be published.

7. Correspondence

None.

8. Chairperson’s Business

None.

9. Any Other Business

None.

10. Date, Time and Place of next meeting

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 29 September at 1pm in Room 29 in Parliament Buildings.

The meeting was adjourned at 1.32pm.

Aoife Finnegan MLA

Chairperson, Ad Hoc Committee on the School Uniforms (Trousers) Bill

29 September 2026