NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY
BUSINESS COMMITTEE
TUESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2007
IN ROOM 106, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
MINUTES
The meeting began at 12.35 pm
Present:
The Speaker (Chair)
Mr PJ Bradley
Mr P Maskey
Mr K McCarthy
Mr P McGlone
Mr D McNarry
Lord Morrow
Ms C Ní Chuilín
Mr P Weir
Present (secretariat):
Mr J Reynolds Deputy Clerk
Mr P Moore Clerk of Business
In attendance:
Ms F Leneghan Assistant Private Secretary to the Speaker
Ms C McGivern Director of Legal Services
Observers:
Mr D McClarty Deputy Speaker
Mr G Kelly Junior Minister
Ms R Flanagan OFMDFM
1. Minutes of the meeting held on 9 October 2007
1.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 9 October were agreed and were signed by the Speaker.
2. Matter Arising
2.1 Referring to paragraph 4.1 of the minutes (earlier issue of the Order Papers) members confirmed that they were content with how the new arrangements had operated in the previous week and that these arrangements should continue.
3. Arrangements for plenary meetings in week commencing 22 October
3.1 Members were referred to draft Order Papers for Monday 22 October and Tuesday 23 October, along with a notice of forthcoming Executive business.
Executive Business
3.2 Members noted that two Executive motions had been tabled, the first seeking approval of a draft Statutory Rule (The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations ( Northern Ireland) 2007) and the second being a ‘legislative consent motion’ relating to the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill. Members agreed that both should be scheduled on Monday 22 October.
3.3 Members noted that debate on each motion should take no longer than thirty minutes, but did not set any specific time restrictions on either debate .
3.4 The junior Minister advised that the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety may seek to introduce a bill on 22 October, with the urgency being related to legal proceedings, but that no decision would be made until the Executive meeting scheduled for 18 October. Members were reminded that provided sufficient notice had been given to the Speaker a bill may be introduced despite not being listed on the Order Paper. Members were further advised, however, that it would not be possible to conduct any further Stages of the bill, or to debate a motion to seek accelerated passage for the bill, without those items appearing on the Order Paper.
Mr PJ Bradley joined the meeting at 12.45.
3.5 The Speaker reported that he had received correspondence from the First Minister and deputy First Minister seeking an additional meeting of the Assembly on Thursday 25 October, in order that two statements might be made: the first being on the draft Programme for Government and the Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland, and the second on the draft budget. A copy of the letter was distributed to members. Following discussions, members agreed that the Assembly should sit on Monday 22 October and Thursday 25 October, and that no sitting would be held on Tuesday 23 October.
3.6 The junior Minister confirmed that he was unaware of any further ministerial statements planned for week commencing 22 October, but stressed that statements might be agreed at the Executive’s meeting on 18 October.
Committee Business
3.7 Members noted that no Committee business had been tabled.
Private Members’ business
3.8 Following discussions, and receipt of information on the availability of Ministers, members agreed that two Private Members’ motions should be scheduled for debate on Monday 22 October, and two on Thursday 25 October, and that there would be no Adjournment debate at either sitting.
3.9 Five motions were proposed for debate. Members voted on a proposal that the motion on the ‘Costs of Division’ (D Ford and S Farry) should be selected. Votes were cast as follows: For: 9 votes; Against: 97 votes. The motion was not selected.
3.10 By consensus, the motions on:
- ‘Abortion’ (J Donaldson and I Robinson); and
- ‘Abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board’ (T Elliott)
were selected for debate (in that order) on Monday 22 October. It was agreed that each motion would be allocated up to one hour and thirty minutes for debate.
3.11 By consensus, the motions on:
- ‘IVF Fertility waiting lists’ (A Attwood)); and
- ‘Windscale/Sellafield’(D McKay and W Clarke))
were selected for debate (in that order) for Thursday 25 October. It was agreed that each motion would be allocated up to one hour and thirty minutes for debate.
4. Any Other Business
4.1 Lord Morrow sought clarification on the appropriateness of a Member having tabled a topic for adjournment debate, when that topic lay outside his or her constituency, adding that he would not have agreed to the ‘traffic calming’ topic being selected for the sitting on 16 October had he realised that the school concerned lay outside the tabling Member’s constituency. Mr McGlone advised that the catchment area of the school included the Member’s constituency. The Speaker confirmed that topics should be constituency related, which this topic clearly was, and that he thought it reasonable for a Member to table a topic on a subject located in a neighbouring constituency, provided the subject affected his or her own constituents.
4.2 Mr McCarthy raised the issue of confidentiality of matters discussed in the Business Committee. The Speaker confirmed that discussions should remain ‘in confidence’.
4.3 Mr McNarry raised two issues surrounding Question Time. These were the length of ministerial answers and the lack of spontaneity in the way supplementary questions were handled, which, he believed, damaged the public’s perception of the Assembly. Lord Morrow and Ms Ní Chuilín expressed other concerns regarding Question Time. The Speaker reported that he had already expressed some concerns about the current practice, but warned that any changes needed to be sustainable, to be seen to be fair, and to be manageable by whoever would be in the Chair. The Speaker undertook to bring a discussion paper to the Business Committee in due course.
4.4 The Speaker noted that a number of Private Notice Questions (PNQs) had been tabled in recent weeks, and that, in most cases, he had not accepted these. The Speaker reminded members that there were clear criteria in Standing Orders around urgency and public importance and that these must be met for a PNQ to be acceptable. The Speaker also advised that if a Member could obtain an answer in another way he or she should seek to do so.
5. Date and Time of next meeting
5.1 Members agreed to meet at 12.30 pm on Tuesday 23 October in Room 106, to schedule business for plenary sittings during week commencing 5 November.
The Speaker brought the meeting to a close at 1.30 pm.