COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION

NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY BRANCH – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Tuesday 15 October 2024

 

Present:                                                                    

Mr Jonathan Buckley MLA, Chair                                       

Dr Steve Aiken MLA                                                 

Mr Keith Buchanan MLA

Mr Trevor Clarke MLA                                            

Mr Paul Frew MLA

Ms Michelle McIlveen MLA  

 

Apologies:

Mr Stewart Dickson MLA 

 

Also In attendance:

Mrs Lesley Hogg, Clerk/Chief Executive

Ms Stephanie Mallon, Branch Secretary

Mrs Clare Maguire, Public Engagement Manager

Mrs Caroline Moore, Participation and Outreach Manager

Mrs Nicola Crawford, Parliamentary Engagement Co-ordinator (minutes)


1. WELCOME

The Chair welcomed Executive Committee Members of the CPA NI Assembly Branch to the meeting.


2. APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Mr Stewart Dickson MLA.


3. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes were agreed.

Proposed by: Dr Steve Aiken MLA

Seconded by: Mr Paul Frew MLA


4. FORTHCOMING CONFERENCES

The Chair briefed Members on his attendance at the Advanced Parliamentary Residency Programme in Malaysia.  He stated that the programme was excellent and the engagement between the Members in attendance was particularly good.  The Chair said that he would like to commend the CPA on their training programmes and asked the other Members to avail of the programmes in future.  He also stated that entire CPA membership should be encouraged to attend the programmes.

The Chair reminded Members that the annual CPA conference will take place in Sydney, Australia from the 3 – 8 November. The Chair discussed which gifts the delegation should take to the conference and the Members agreed that they should take the book on the Assembly exhibition with them.

ACTION:

  • Gifts for Lesley Hogg to take to the CPA conference.


5. PARTNER COUNTRIES

The Chair advised members that the Speaker had telephoned Speaker Arnott, from the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, on 24 September to discuss the partnership between the two CPA Branches.  He stated that it was a very productive meeting, with both Speakers very keen to explore the partnership and how it can benefit both Assemblies.

The Chair advised that, as Speaker Arnott cannot travel to Northern Ireland, due to Assembly business and possible elections in February 2025, he will extend a formal invitation to Speaker Poots to visit Ontario shortly. In the meantime, Speaker Arnott will ask his Clerk to get in touch with the Assembly Clerk/Chief Executive to initiate contact and to work on the potential details of any proposed partnership arrangements.

Mrs Hogg then advised Members that the Clerk from Ontario had contacted her to discuss how to take the partnership forward and that a plan for the partnership would need to formulated.

The Chair then asked members to think about how they would like to proceed with the partnership.

ACTION:

  • Members to consider the detail of the partnership with Ontario and what potential activities/projects would bring mutual benefit.      


6. VISIT BY THE CPA UK CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

CPA Chief Executive Officer

The Chair advised Members that it was agreed at a previous meeting to invite Sarah Dickson OBE, the new Chief Executive Officer of CPA UK, to visit the Assembly.  He stated that Ms Dickson initially accepted our invitation to visit, however she had to send her apologies and will instead attend the meeting on Tuesday 17 December. 

Members advised that the 17 December is during Christmas recess and suggested asking Ms Dickson to visit the week before, on 10 December.  It was also suggested that a dinner, hosted by the Speaker as President of the Branch, be held for Ms Dickson while in Parliament Buildings.

Actions:

  • Invitation to be issued to Sarah Dickson OBE to attend the next Branch meeting on Tuesday 10 December.
  • Contact the Speaker’s Office for the Speaker’s availability once Sarah Dickson’s visit is confirmed.
  • Visit programme to be drafted.

CPA Secretary-General

The Chair advised Members that it was agreed at the last meeting to invite Mr Stephen Twigg, CPA Secretary-General, to meet with the Executive Committee.  He stated that Mr Twigg has been contacted, and he has agreed to visit the Assembly in February, to coincide with the 50th meeting of the Executive Committee, and to visit some local schools.

The Chair then suggested to Members that his visit could coincide with a joint celebratory event for the Branch’s 50th meeting and Commonwealth Day.  The Secretary-General could attend the event in the evening and then visit local schools the following day.

Actions:

  • Check possible dates in February to hold the event and check room availability.
  • Contact the Secretary-General to check his availability for the dates.

 

7. ELECTION OBSERVATION TRAINING

CPA BIMR Election Observation Mission to the Montserrat General Election - 24 October 2024

The Chair advised Members that applications were requested from trained members to join the CPA BIMR Election Observation Mission (EOM) to the Montserrat General Election on 24 October 2024.

He stated that both Steve Aiken MLA and Colin McGrath MLA had applied for the roles.  Dr Aiken’s application was successful, and he was selected for the role of Short-Term Observer.

The Chair congratulated to Dr Aiken on his appointment and asked him to report back on the mission at the next meeting.


8. MEETINGS WITH UK CPA BRANCHES

The Chair advised Members that it had been agreed at a previous meeting that the UK Parliament CPA Branch should be contacted and invited to participate in a meeting between the four UK-based CPA Branches.

He stated that CPA UK have been contacted and have advised that, since the General Election, they don’t currently have an Executive Committee, or a Chair.  However, there will be an Executive Committee election this month following which a Chair will be elected and that, in principle, their new Chair, once elected, would be happy to join the meeting, but it will be a steep learning curve for them early in their tenure. 

The Chair asked Members if they were content to wait for the new CPA UK Chair to be in place before this meeting goes ahead and Members stated that they were content to do this.


9. DRAFT BRANCH STRATEGY

The Chair advised Members that, at the last meeting, the draft Branch strategy was presented to them for their consideration.  He stated that during the meeting, Members suggested a small amendment to the ‘building connection’ objective, with it now reading ‘Engage with all MLAs to expand the membership of the CPA’; this has now been made.

The Chair then asked Members if they were content to approve the strategy and Members stated that they were content.

The Chair advised that the Secretary had told Members about The Parliamentarian magazine at the last meeting, and suggested approaching them about an article to mark the 50th meeting of the Executive Committee.

The Chair stated that the editor was contacted and that he would be happy to include an article about the 50th meeting.  He advised that articles for The Parliamentarian are typically between 1,000 and 1,500 words and should be accompanied by a brief biography and portrait photo of the contributor.

The Chair asked Members if they would be content for the article to be written after the 50th meeting/Commonwealth Day event and then published in the June issue. Members stated that they were content with this suggestion.

Actions:

  • Parliamentarian article to be written for the June issue (submission deadline is 19 May).

10. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Draft CPA Non-Charitable Constitution

The Chair advised Members that the CPA’s new (non-charitable) Constitution will be considered by delegates at the CPA General Assembly, during the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in New South Wales in November 2024, as part of the process of changing the Association’s legal status.

Ahead of its consideration, the CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg has recorded a video explainer with an overview of the differences between this new version of the CPA Constitution and the previous (charitable) version for the benefit of the membership. This will ensure that any CPA Branches and Members who will not be present for the CPA General Assembly can review give consideration to the potential change in status.

The Chair stated that the video was issued to Members prior to this meeting and that the CPA Secretary-General welcomes any feedback, suggested changes, or questions regarding the document by 30 October 2024. 

The Chair asked Members to advise Engagement staff of any feedback they have on the document by Friday 25 October.

Dr Steve Aiken MLA suggested that if the new legal status is adopted then the Chair may want to nominate himself as a Trustee on the Board of the newly constituted CPA. The Chair was supportive of the idea of the NI branch being represented but stated that he would not be able to make this time commitment at present. The Chair suggested that this may be something Dr Aiken MLA himself might want to consider.  


11. DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

It was agreed that, going forward, meetings should take place at 1.15pm to prevent clashes with other meetings.

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 19 November at 1.15pm in the Private Dining Room.

The Chair adjourned the meeting.