Committee for The Executive Office

Minutes of Proceedings Wednesday 22 January 2025

Committee for the Executive Office minutes of proceedings 22 January 2025.pdf (171.71 kb)

Meeting Location: Room 30, Parliament Buildings

Present:

Ms Paula Bradshaw MLA (Chairperson)

Mr Stewart Dickson MLA (Deputy Chairperson)

Mr Timothy Gaston MLA

Mr Harry Harvey MLA

Mr Brian Kingston MLA

Ms Sinéad McLaughlin MLA

Ms Emma Sheerin MLA

Ms Claire Sugden MLA

Present by Video or Teleconference:

Ms Carál Ní Chuilín MLA

In Attendance:

Mr Michael Potter (Assembly Clerk)

Mr Tom Armstrong (Assistant Assembly Clerk)

Mr Neil Porter (Clerical Supervisor)

Ms Andrienne Magee (Clerical Officer)

The meeting commenced at 2.00pm in public session.


1. Apologies

None.


2. Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest.


3. Chairperson’s Business

The Chair updated the Committee following her meeting with the Commissioner for Historical Institutional Abuse and that a briefing note will be supplied for next week’s meeting.

The Committee noted a summary of departmental briefings.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to schedule briefings from the Department on:

  • Civil contingencies
  • Tackling paramilitaries


4. Draft Minutes

Agreed: The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 15 January 2025.


5. Matters Arising

The Committee considered a response from The Executive Office to the Committee’s request for information on October Monitoring.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to write to the Department for:

  • A breakdown of the amount of Communities in Transition funding each group received.
  • An answer to why the Windsor Framework funding website appears on the budget line, but is not the Department’s responsibility.

Emma Sheerin MLA joined the meeting at 2.04pm.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to write to the Department for:

  • The criteria and process used for allocating the Communities in Transition funding.

The Committee noted briefing notes from Survivors (North West) following last week’s Committee meeting.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to write to the Department to ask to consider amending the Historical Institutional Abuse (Northern Ireland) Act 2019.

Agreed: The Committee agreed for the Clerk to look into the Council of Europe investigation into institutional child abuse and ascertain actual and potential links with processes in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.


6. Refugees and People Seeking Asylum – Migrant Help Oral Evidence

The witness joined the meeting at 2.10pm.

Members received evidence from:

  • Ms. Juliet Halstead, Deputy Director of Asylum Services, Migrant Help

The witness provided evidence on refugees and people seeking asylum.

The oral evidence session was followed by a question and answer session.

The Chairperson thanked the witness for her attendance.

The witness left the meeting at 3.10pm.


7. Refugees and People Seeking Asylum – Northern Ireland Housing Executive Oral Evidence

The witnesses joined the meeting at 3.11pm.

Members received evidence from:

  • Ms. Jennifer Hawthorne, Director of Housing Services, Northern Ireland Housing Executive
  • Mr. Anthony Lavery, Head of Refugee Integration, Northern Ireland Housing Executive
  • Mr. Liam Gunn, Acting Belfast Regional Manager, Northern Ireland Housing Executive

The witnesses provided evidence on refugees and people seeking asylum.

The oral evidence session was followed by a question and answer session.

The Chairperson left the meeting at 3.49pm and the Deputy Chairperson took the Chair.

The Chairperson returned to the meeting at 3.53pm and resumed the Chair.

Ms. Sinéad McLaughlin MLA left the meeting at 3.57pm.

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive undertook to send the Committee details regarding homelessness make up (i.e. age, sex, family size, etc.) and how much money the Northern Ireland Housing Executive need to meet the Minister’s new build plan.

The Chairperson thanked the witnesses for their attendance.

The witnesses left the meeting at 4.39pm.


8. Inquiry into Gaps in Legislation – Update

The Chair advised the Committee that an options paper is currently being drafted as regards to potential Committee recommendations and will be supplied to the Committee at next week’s meeting.

The Chair advised the Committee that the Christian Institute and Women’s Rights Network have been invited to appear in front of the Committee on 12 February 2025.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to stop taking evidence following the evidence session on 12 February 2025.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to consider recommendations and agree the final report in March 2025.

Ms. Carál Ní Chuilín left the meeting at 4.43pm.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to schedule a Committee motion before Easter Recess.


9. Draft Forward Work Programme

The Committee considered the draft forward work programme.

Agreed: The Committee agreed that they were content to proceed with the briefings as set out in the work programme.


10. Correspondence

i. The Committee noted the summary of Committee correspondence.

ii. The Committee noted an invitation from Amnesty International to attend an event “Legacy: Where are we now and where to next” in Parliament Buildings on 28 January 2025.

iii. The Committee noted correspondence from the First Minister and deputy First Minster on the establishment of a Truth Recovery Redress Service.

iv. The Committee noted a response from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to Mr Gaston’s correspondence on the Committee evidence session on 11 December 2024.

v. The Committee noted an invitation from Queens University Belfast to attend an event “Research to reality” in Parliament Buildings on 22nd January 2025.

vi. The Committee considered a response from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to the Committee’s correspondence requesting information on the Castlereagh Foundation.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to write to the Department for an update on the Castlereagh Foundation.

vii. The Committee noted correspondence from the Truth Recovery Independent Panel.

viii. The Committee noted a response from the Executive Office to the Committee’s correspondence requesting information on mother and baby institutions.

viii. The Committee noted correspondence from the Committee for Finance on the capacity and resourcing of the Office of the Legislative Counsel.

ix. The Committee noted a press release from the Department of Finance on January monitoring round allocations.

x. The Committee considered correspondence from the First Minister and deputy First Minister on the UK Covid Inquiry Module 1 report.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to invite the Department to the Committee to provide a briefing on a response to the report.

xi. The Committee noted an invitation from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to an annual human rights lecture on 24th February 2025.

xii. The Committee noted a response from Professor Colin Harvey, Queens University Belfast, on correspondence sent to the Committee on an expert panel for a Bill of Rights.


11. Any Other Business

There was no other business.


12. Date, Time and Place of next meeting

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 29 January 2025 at 2.00pm in Room 30, Parliament Buildings.

The meeting was adjourned at 4.45pm.

Paula Bradshaw MLA

Chairperson, Committee for the Executive Office