Letter from the Speaker to all Members regarding Proxy Voting
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The Speaker
Room 39
Parliament Buildings
Ballymiscaw
Stormont
Belfast, BT4 3XX
Tel: +44 (0) 28 9052 1130
email: speakersoffice@niassembly.gov.uk
To: All Members
14 March 2025
Dear Members
The Assembly has agreed to introduce proxy voting in specific circumstances set out Standing Order 27A.
Following further engagement with the Committee on Procedures on the detail, I have today published a proxy voting scheme (the Scheme) in accordance with that standing order. A copy of the Scheme is included with this letter.
The process for by which a Member may designate a proxy is straightforward. A Member must provide some detail about their proposed arrangements – either by email or through completing a form – to the Business Office.
Full detail of how proxy voting will work in practice, including the process by which a Member may designate a proxy, the period for which a proxy vote may be exercised, and how a Member may vary or withdraw that proxy is included in the Scheme.
Any queries about the operation of the Scheme should be addressed to the Business Office.
Finally, while the Scheme for proxy voting largely deals with procedural and technical detail, I want to acknowledge that the conditions in which proxy voting can apply will in some cases involve very sensitive and personal circumstances.
Therefore, I am also engaging with officials in relation to the support available to Members from a welfare perspective.
Yours sincerely,
EDWIN POOTS MLA
SPEAKER
