Commonwealth Parliamentary Association - Northern Ireland Assembly Branch: Executive Committee

Minutes of Proceedings - Tuesday 19 November 2024

Present:

• Mr Jonathan Buckley MLA, Chair
• Dr Steve Aiken MLA
• Mr Keith Buchanan MLA
• Mr Trevor Clarke MLA
• Mr Stewart Dickson MLA
• Mr Paul Frew MLA
• Ms Michelle McIlveen MLA

Apologies:

• None

Also In attendance:

• Mrs Lesley Hogg, Clerk/Chief Executive
• Ms Stephanie Mallon, Branch Secretary
• Dr Kevin Pelan, Clerk Assistant
• 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

No apologies were received.

3. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes were agreed.

Proposed by: Dr Steve Aiken MLA

Seconded by: Mr Keith Buchanan MLA

The Chair advised Members that Ms Mallon will be stepping down as Secretary of Branch as she will be returning to her role in the Bill Office. Dr Kevin Pelan will be replacing her from the December meeting.

He stated that, according to the CPA Branch rules, ‘If at any time the Secretary of the Branch is required to retire, a new representative will be elected at the next Annual General Meeting’ and proposed that Dr Pelan takes on the role of Acting Secretary until the next AGM which is due in June 2025. Members were content with the proposal.

The Chair then thanked Ms Mallon for all her help and hard work with the Branch especially with the forward work plan and Branch strategy and welcomed Dr Pelan to his new role.

4. FORTHCOMING CONFERENCES

CPA Annual Conference

The Chair discussed his attendance at the annual CPA conference, which took place form the 3 – 8 November in Sydney, Australia. He stated that it was a very useful conference with lots of positive engagement between delegates. The conference was very well attended especially by delegations from the devolved legislations. He advised Members that he had given a speech during the General Assembly’s topical debate on fake news about his own experiences. He also advised that there was much discussion on artificial intelligence throughout the conference.

He stated that a new Chair and deputy Chair were elected in a very close election and that the members ratified the new charitable status of the CPA.

The Chair advised Members that he, along with Mrs Hogg, met the Ontario delegation to discuss the partnership between our branches. He stated that there is a real drive to develop the relationship from Ontario and that they are very keen to progress things. There are a lot of shared historical and cultural links which should be explored and they would like to see exchanges between legislatures for both members and staff.

Mrs Hogg then advised Members that Ontario had had previous partnerships that had not worked out and that they are very keen that this partnership has meaningful engagement and outputs. She stated that we need to have a firm idea of what we want from the partnership.

Mrs Hogg stated that the conference was very good and that they were given a warm reception by their hosts. She also stated that it gave her an excellent opportunity to engage with other Clerks during the SOCATT sections.

CPA Advanced Professional Development & Skills-Building Residency Programme

The Chair advised Members that the five-day residency will take place in Valletta, Malta on 23 February – 1 March 2025. The course aims to enhance participants’ people and soft skills across critical areas such as leadership, strategic thinking, communications, and team management. Building on the success of the 2024 residency programmes, which welcomed over 70 parliamentarians and parliamentary staff from more than 20 national and subnational jurisdictions, participants have consistently reported enhanced skills and knowledge applicable to their roles.

The Chair asked Members if they were content for the invitation to be issued to all CPA Members. Members were content.

ACTION: Invitation to be issued to CPA Members.

5. PARTNER COUNTRIES

The Chair stated that, following on from the Speaker’s initial meeting with Speaker Arnott, he had asked Members to consider how they would like to proceed with the Ontario partnership. No responses were received.

The Chair then advised Members that the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments were contacted regarding their previous or current partnerships. Whilst neither have any current partnerships, the Scottish Parliament had a previous partnership with Malawi, which involved them providing a month-long residency programme in Edinburgh for groups of senior officials. However, there was no MOU signed between the two parliaments.

The Chair then suggested to Members that, rather than have a standalone plan, the Branch strategy action plan should incorporate ideas for the partnership, and Members were content with this.

6. INWARD VISITS

CPA UK Chief Executive Officer

The Chair advised Members that it had been agreed at a previous meeting to invite Sarah Dickson OBE, the new Chief Executive Officer of CPA UK, to visit the Assembly.He stated thatMs Dickson had accepted our invitation to visit on Tuesday 10 December and was planning to bring the new CPA UK Branch Chair with her. However, staff were informed late last week that Ms Dickson is currently off on leave with no confirmed return date. He advised that we will need to postpone this meeting until early 2025 and Members were content.

CPA Secretary General

The Chair advised Members that it was agreed at a previous meeting to invite Mr Stephen Twigg, CPA Secretary-General, to meet with the Executive Committee and, at our last meeting, it was suggested that the Branch holds its Commonwealth Day event in February to coincide with his visit.

He stated that Mr Twigg was contacted and he has agreed to visit the Assembly on Tuesday 18 February to attend the Commonwealth Day event and then to visit some local schools on Wednesday 19 February.

In order to start making plans for the visit, the Chair asked Members forward any suggestions for local schools to visit to Engagement staff who will then investigate the viability for such a visit with the schools.

7. ELECTION OBSERVATION TRAINING

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

The Chair asked Dr Aiken to tell the Members about his experience as a Short-Term Observer at the election.

Dr Aiken stated that the trip had been very hard work but extremely useful and their work was greatly appreciated by the election staff in Montserrat. He stated he the team had great support from the CPA staff who accompanied them on the mission.

He stated that he would actively encourage other Members to take part in forthcoming missions as he had learned a lot, all of which would be useful when looking at our own election process.

Following on from Dr Aiken participating this election observation mission, Mr Frew asked about Members receiving training so that they can participate in future missions.

He was advised that, as well as the CPA, the OESC and CLRAE both offer such training. The Chair advised that these courses will be investigated and information passed on to Member at the next meeting.

ACTION: Engagement staff to investigate suitable Election Observation training courses.

8. CPA BIMR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The Chair asked Dr Aiken to discuss the work of the Digital Transformation team.

Dr Aiken stated that there had been two meetings, which had both been very useful. He advised that the main focus is on Artificial Intelligence and that a questionnaire on AI will be issued to all CPA branches. He also stated that targeted training programmes on AI would be rolled out to CPA members, and this would start from the middle of next year.

9. MEETINGS WITH UK CPA BRANCHES

The Chair advised Members that at the last meeting Members had agreed to wait for the new CPA UK Chair to be in place before the meeting with CPA Branches goes ahead. He stated that this meeting can be discussed with the Chair during their forthcoming visit.

10. DRAFT BRANCH STRATEGY

The Chair advised Members that staff are continuing to work on the strategy and have prepared a draft list of actions to fulfil objectives in the new CPA Branch Strategy. He stated that this action plan will be presented to Members at the next meeting.

11. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Christmas Drinks Reception

The Chair stated that, as per previous years, he would like the Executive Committee to host a Christmas drinks reception for all CPA Members after the next meeting on Tuesday 10 December.

All Members were content to do this.

ACTION: Invitations to be sent to all CPA Members.

Proxy Voting

Mr Dickson noted that, following changes to proxy voting in instances of parental leave, the Committee for Procedures is currently considering other circumstances. There was a brief but wide-ranging discussion on the issue.

It was noted that the CPA NI Executive Committee was supportive of proxy voting in instances of parental leave but that these accommodations were specifically to serve Assembly business and that CPA NI may create its own guidance on how it conducts its own voting.

12. DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 10 December at 12.30pm (plenary business permitting) in the Private Dining Room followed by the Christmas Drinks Reception at 1.15pm.

The Chair adjourned the meeting.