Commonwealth Parliamentary Association - Northern Ireland Assembly Branch - Executive Committee
Tuesday 16 September 2025
Present:
Dr Steve Aiken MLA
Mr Keith Buchanan MLA
Mr Stewart Dickson MLA
Mr Paul Frew MLA
Miss Michelle McIlveen MLA
Apologies:
Mr Jonathan Buckley MLA, Chair
Mr Trevor Clarke MLA
Ms Stephanie Mallon, Secretary
Also In attendance:
Mrs Lesley Hogg, Clerk/Chief Executive
Mrs Clare Maguire, Public Engagement Manager
Mrs Caroline Moore, Participation & Outreach Manager
Mrs Nicola Crawford, Parliamentary Engagement Co-ordinator (minutes)
1. WELCOME
Mr Stewart Dickson MLA, Acting Chair, welcomed Executive Committee Members of the CPA NI Assembly Branch to the meeting.
2. APOLOGIES
Apologies were received from the following:
- Mr Jonathan Buckley MLA, Chair
- Mr Trevor Clarke MLA
- Ms Stephanie Mallon, Secretary
3. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes were agreed.
Proposed by: Mr Keith Buchanan MLA
Seconded by: Miss Michelle McIlveen MLA
4. CPA CONFERENCES/SEMINARS/WEBINARS
CPA British Islands and Mediterranean Region Conference, Cardiff, 17-19 June 2025
The Chair advised Members that Steve Aiken MLA, Jonathan Buckley MLA, Paul Frew MLA and Michelle McIlveen MLA represented the Assembly at the BIMR conference in Cardiff and that the attendee conference report was at Tab 2a and the official conference report was at Tab 2b in their meeting packs.
The Chair asked those Members who attended if they had any comments and Dr Aiken stated that it was one of the better conferences that he had attended. He advised that he attended the launch of the new BIMR LGBT+ Network and he suggested that the Branch should have a Member join the network and that a volunteer should be sought from the wider CPA membership. Members agreed.
ACTION: A volunteer to be requested to join the BIMR LGBT+ Network to represent the Branch.
Parliamentary Caucus at the Athens Democracy Forum, 1 – 3 October 2025
The Chair advised Members that, as discussed at the last meeting, an invitation has been received from the Democracy and Culture Foundation for CPA Members to participate in the Athens Democracy Forum (ADF), taking place from 1 to 3 October 2025 in Athens, Greece.
More information was requested from the organisers about the conference. They advised that the invitation is to attend the whole forum and that the event is free for up to three delegates, but all travel and accommodation costs must be met by the legislature. Any additional delegates would incur a €300 fee. The event is for politicians but a parliamentary official can attend if appropriate.
The Chair asked Members if they wanted to send a delegation to the Forum and they agreed that the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments should be contacted to see if they were sending a delegation and then a decision would be made.
ACTION: Scottish and Welsh Parliaments to be contacted regarding the Forum.
68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC), 5 - 12 October 2025, Bridgetown, Barbados
The Chair stated that the annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference will take place in Bridgetown, Barbados from 5 – 12 October. The theme of the conference is “The Commonwealth – A Global Partner” and the working programme for the conference was at Tab 3 in packs.
He advised Members that Mr Edwin Poots MLA, Speaker and Branch President, will be representing the Assembly at the conference and Mrs Lesley Hogg will also be at conference attending the Society of Clerks at the Table (SOCATT) conference. Flights and accommodation have been booked.
CPA UK Post Election Seminar Cayman Islands 20 – 25 October 2025
The Chair advised Members that CPA UK is organising a Post-Election Seminar (20 – 25 October 2025) for the Parliament of the Cayman Islands, following their recent general election in April. They are looking for experienced parliamentarians to join the delegation that will deliver the seminar, supported by CPA UK staff.
He stated that applications were requested from interested Members to join the delegation and two applications were received, from Dr Steve Aiken MLA and Mr Phillip Brett MLA. Unfortunately, on this occasion and due to large volume of applications, Dr Aiken and Mr Brett’s applications were not successful.
Election Observation Mission, Falkland Islands, 26 October – 12 November 2025
The Chair advised Members at the last meeting that an Election Observation Mission will take place in the Falkland Islands, from 26 October to 12 November, for their General Election and that Steve Aiken MLA had applied to take part in the mission.
The Chair stated that Dr Aiken was not chosen as an observer but has accepted the offer to be a reserve short term observer.
Artificial Intelligence Conference - The Role of Parliament in Shaping the Future of Responsible AI, 28-30 November 2025, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Chair advised Members that the Parliament of Malaysia, CPA, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had invited the Branch to register for the upcoming Conference on ‘The Role of Parliament in Shaping the Future of Responsible AI’, to be held from 28-30 November 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
This landmark event will convene parliamentarians and senior parliamentary staff from across the globe to engage in a critical dialogue on the profound implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for our societies, economies, and democratic institutions. As AI technologies continue to evolve at an unprecedented pace, it is imperative that parliaments are equipped with the knowledge and tools to legislate, oversee, and ensure that AI is developed and deployed in a manner that is safe, ethical, and beneficial for all citizens.
The theme is topical and relevant to work being undertaken by the Assembly Commission in various ways by both staff and Members. The team can provide the briefings that the Assembly has produced/received to date on AI and parliaments. It would be prudent for Executive Members to review these briefings and consider the benefits of participating in the conference as a means to deciding if we would like to send a representative. The maximum number of participants per parliament is three. Participants will be responsible for their costs, including travel and accommodation.
The Chair asked if Members wanted to review the AI material we have amassed to date before making a decision on sending a representative to this conference and Members were content not to view this. He also asked Members if they were content for the information to be issued to the CPA membership and applications to attend requested. Members were content to do this.
ACTION: Information on the conference to be issued to Members and applications requested.
CPA Parliamentary Academy Residency Programme for Members (Practice & Procedure), Trinidad and Tobago (December 2025)
The Chair advised Members that an invitation for the next forthcoming CPA Parliamentary Academy’s Residency Programme for Members of Parliament (Practice & Procedure) that is scheduled to take place in Trinidad and Tobago from 7 to 13 December 2025 (inclusive of travel dates – programme takes place 8 to 12 December 2025) had been received.
The Advanced Parliamentary Development Residency Course is a five-day programme designed to enable Members of Parliament to be better performing legislators, representatives and scrutineers.
The Chair asked Members if they were content for this opportunity to be issued to the memberships and Members were content.
ACTION: Information on the residency to be issued to Members and applications requested.
5. PARTNERSHIP COUNTRY
The Chair stated that, as per the suggestion at the last meeting, a letter has been sent to the new Ontario Speaker congratulating her on her new role.
He advised that a RaISe paper was commissioned to examine areas in which the Assembly and Ontario legislature could partner
The following joint areas of interest were identified:
I. Members security, particularly in constituencies, as well as the level of abuse and harassment directed towards Members through social media.
II. Blue/ green algae in Lough Neagh and the Great Lakes.
III. Ancestral and historic ties between Canada, particularly Ontario, and Northern Ireland.
IV. Possible Ulster Scots links in Ontario.
V. Economic and higher education links with the business communities and universities in Ontario.
The papers have been received and were in the meeting pack for the Members information.
6. MEETINGS WITH CPA-UK BRANCHES
The Chair advised that a letter was issued to all Chairs of the UK and British Isles branches requesting a meeting and that a positive response was received from each of the branches.
He stated that an initial virtual meeting will now be organised with each of the Branch Chairs.
ACTION: Virtual meeting between Branches to be arranged.
7. REVIEW OF THE BRANCH RULES
The Chair advised Members that officials intend to review and update the current Branch rules and will table the updated rules at the next meeting. He stated that the current rules were in their packs for information
8. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
(i) CWP GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE TOOLKIT
The Chair advised that at the last meeting Members were advised that the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Network is currently planning to develop a practical toolkit to support parliaments across the Commonwealth to tackle Gender-Based Violence. They had invited branches to share their input to help define the specific focus areas for the toolkit.
As per the discussion at that meeting, our response was that the most important areas for the NI Assembly are violence against women and online violence against elected representatives.
CPA UK has since thanked us for our response and advised that the next step for this toolkit is for a ‘terms of reference’ to be developed and agreed on, which will define the scope of the research (taking the responses we received into account). They also advised there is no current timeline for this work.
(ii) 50th Meeting Parliamentarian Article
The Chair stated that the article about the 50th meeting of the Executive Committee and the visit by Mr Stephen Twigg was published in the Parliamentarian in May. The article was in Members’ packs for their information.
(iii) Members Survey
The Chair stated that, as per the action plan, a survey will be issued to CPA Members to identify areas of interest to explore with the other CPA branches. The draft survey questions were in Members’s packs but no comments were received and Members were content for the survey to be issued.
ACTION: Survey to be issued to all Members.
(iv) Commonwealth Groups
The Chair stated that Commonwealth groups/clubs within Northern Ireland have been identified and were listed in the packs for information. He advised that Assembly staff are developing ideas for engagement with these groups and will come back with ideas at a future meeting.
Dr Aiken advised Members that there is now a newly appointed Indian Consul General for Northern Ireland and that he is the most senior Commonwealth representative in the country.
Members agreed that a meeting should be arranged with the new Consul General.
ACTION: Meeting to be arranged with the new Indian Consul General.
9. DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 14 October at 1:15pm (plenary business permitting) in the Private Dining Room.
The Chair adjourned the meeting.
