COMMITTEE FOR FINANCE AND PERSONNEL
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
TENTH MEETING
THURSDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2000
ROOM 135, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Members Present:
Mr Francie Molloy (Chair)
Mr James Leslie (Deputy Chair)
Mr William Bell
Mr Seamus Close
Mr Oliver Gibson
Mr Peter Weir
In Attendance:
Mr Martin Wilson (Committee Clerk)
Mr Peter Hughes (Assistant Committee Clerk)
Ms Sharon Bowman (Administrative Support)
The Committee met in closed session at 2.00pm.
AGENDA
1. Apologies.
1.1. Mr Alex Attwood, Mr Gardiner Kane, Mr Donovan McClelland
2. Minutes of Proceedings.
2.1. Agreed: The Committee agreed the Minutes of Proceedings for the Committee meeting on Thursday, 3 February 2000.
3. Minutes of Evidence
3.1. Members did not bring forward any amendments to the Minutes of Evidence on the Assembly Members Pensions Bill (NIA 1/99) for 3 February and cleared the Minutes for printing.
4. Matters Arising.
4.1. Budget 2000/01 and Appropriation Bills
4.1.1. Mr Mark Durkan, Minister of Finance and Personnel supported by Departmental officers appeared before the Committee to explain and answer questions on the arrangements proposed by the Department of Finance and Personnel for passing the 2000/01 Budget and Appropriation Bills for 1999/00 and 2000/01 financial years. These were outlined in his letters of 9 and 10 February to the Chairman, which were copied to Members.
4.1.2. Agreed. The Minister agreed to copy his Department's submission on the Programme of Government to the Committee and would seek the Committee's advice and assistance prior to it being submitted to the Executive Committee. He would also consult the Committee on the arrangements to be put in place for consideration of future budgets and Appropriation Bills. The Committee would liase with the other Departmental Committees in order to prepare a formal response on the 2000/01 Budget.
4.2. Allowance to Members of the Assembly and Office Holders Bill (NIA 2/99)
4.2.1. Agreed. The Committee discussed the amendments to the Bill that it had recommended in Report 2/99 (Committee for Finance and Personnel) in the light of advice from the Speaker's Office on the interpretation of Standing Order 46 (9). The Committee agreed that the Chairman should write to the Chairman, Procedures Committee requesting that Standing Order 46 (9) be amended to allow voting by a majority of 'Members voting' rather than a majority of 'Members present'. The Committee also agreed that it would not make any amendment to the Committee's Report 2/99.
5. Consideration of Assembly Members' Pensions Bill (NIA 1/99)
5.1. The Committee considered the written response by the sponsor of the Bill, Reverend R Coulter MLA, to points raised by the Committee at the meeting on 27 January 2000.
5.2. Agreed. The Committee agreed the following:
5.2.1. Article B2 (c). To recommend that Article B2 (c) be amended to specify a maximum period that a Trustee could hold office when no longer a Member. The wording suggested by Reverend Coulter was accepted i.e. '(c) shall, without prejudice to sub-paragraph (b), cease to hold office six months after the date on which he ceases to be a member of the Assembly.'.
5.2.2. Article B2 (4), (5). To accept the Reverend Coulter's assurance that the proposed framework for decision making by Trustees will provide a sound basis for making decisions by consensus.
5.2.3. Article B2 (7). To recommend that Article B2 (7) be amended to clarify the payment of expenses to Trustees. The wording suggested by Reverend Coulter was accepted i.e. after 'Trustees' add 'that are incurred in the exercise of their functions'.
5.2.4. Numbers. The convention used in statute when including numbers within the text was accepted.
5.2.5. The use of pronoun 'He'. The statute convention of using 'he' instead of 'he or she' was accepted.
5.2.6. Article 4. Not to recommend the proposed amendment, as set out in the annex to Reverend Coulter's letter. This would have given flexibility to the length of previous service that Members would want to count towards the period of pensionable service. The Committee agreed that the Chairman and Deputy Chairman would discuss this matter with Professor McWilliams MLA, who had raised this matter in the Assembly. They would report back to the Committee only if there were substantive issues arising from the discussion, which might lead the Committee to reverse its view of the proposed amendment.
5.3. The Chairman noted that the Committee was awaiting a response from the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission regarding queries on Part K of the Bill that were raised at the meeting on 3 February.
6. Date of Next Meeting
6.1. The Committee did not schedule a further meeting.
The Chairman declared the meeting closed at 3.45 pm.