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COMMITTEE ON PROCEDURES
Minutes of Proceedings
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Room 144, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS

Present:
Lord Morrow (Chairperson)
Mr Mervyn Storey (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr Mickey Brady
Mr Francie Brolly
Lord Wallace Browne
Mr David McClarty
Mr Adrian McQuillan
Mr Sean Neeson
Mr Ken Robinson

In Attendance:
Ms Stella McArdle (Assembly Clerk)
Mr Jim Beatty (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Ms Linda Hare (Clerical Supervisor)
Mr Diarmaid Elder (Clerical Officer)

Apologies:
None

The meeting opened at 2.03 pm in closed session.

1. Inquiry into Assembly Questions

Members noted further evidence in relation to the inquiry.

The Committee reconsidered a draft report for its inquiry.

Front Cover - agreed
Membership and Powers - agreed
Table of Contents - agreed

Executive Summary - agreed

Summary of Recommendations - amended and agreed

Main Report:
Paragraph 47, Table 4 - agreed
Paragraph 53 - amended and agreed
Paragraphs 65 - 67 - agreed
Paragraph 77 - agreed
Paragraph 88 - agreed
Paragraph 108 - agreed

Minutes of Proceedings:
Pages 27 - 37 - agreed

Minutes of Evidence:
Pages 41 - 77 - agreed

Written Submissions:
Pages 81 - 166 - agreed

Research Papers:
Pages 169 - 244 - agreed

Agreed: The Committee ordered the report to be printed today and agreed for two copies to be lodged with the Business Office.

Agreed: Committee members will receive a copy of the report when it is printed.

Agreed: The report will be embargoed until commencement of the debate on the report in Plenary.

Agreed: MLAs will receive a copy of the report the week before the report is due to be debated.

Agreed: A copy will be sent to Assembly Liaison Section, OFMDFM, after MLAs have received their copies.

Agreed: To seek to debate the report in Plenary on Monday, 30 March 2009.

The clerk briefed the Committee on some issues relating to the implementation of the recommendations in the report.

Agreed: If necessary, the Committee will meet outside the agreed schedule to consider changes to Standing Orders on Questions.

Agreed: The Committee agreed further procedures in relation to issues raised by the Business Office relating to Recommendation 3 in that the first question should not be from the DUP when the First Minister is answering or from Sinn Fein when the deputy First Minister is answering. The Committee also agreed that in the event that all members selected to ask a question are from the same party, this should be allowed to happen.

The Committee considered a draft Press Release for the launch of its report.

Agreed: Subject to the Chairperson’s agreement on a minor issue, the Committee agreed the Press Release.

Agreed: The Stormont Correspondents Association and BBC Parliament will be provided with copies of the report a few days before the report is debated in Plenary.

The Committee considered a draft motion for debate of the report in Plenary.

Agreed: The Committee agreed the draft motion.

The meeting moved into open session at 2.31 pm.

2. Apologies

There were no apologies.

3. Draft minutes of the meeting held on 3 February 2009

Agreed: The draft minutes of the meeting held on 3 February 2009 were agreed.

4. Chairperson’s Business

The Chairperson updated the Committee on his meeting with Mrs Carmel Hanna, Chairperson of the Standards and Privileges Committee.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to instruct the draftsperson of changes to Standing Orders required as a result of the review of the Code of Conduct and to forward the draft amendments to the Standards and Privileges Committee for comment.

5. Matters Arising

The Committee noted a response from the Assembly and Executive Review Committee on queries about the proposed Committee of Justice.

The clerk briefed the Committee on proposed amendments to the NI Act 1998 based on the Assembly and Executive Review Committee report.

Agreed: It was agreed to request the draftsperson to undertake some preparatory work on the amendments required to Standing Orders for the appointment of Minster for Justice.

Agreed: The clerk will contact the Speaker’s Office regarding an issue raised in Plenary by Mr Ford MLA regarding Matters of the Day.

6. Legislative Consent Inquiry

The Committee was briefed by Assembly Research on a paper which covered the current procedures on dealing with legislative consent motions in the NI Assembly and other legislatures.

The Committee considered the responses from some committees which had previously dealt with legislative consent motions.

The clerk briefed the Committee on some more background to the issues and outlined key areas which members may wish to explore further with the witnesses from OFMDFM.

Mr Neeson left the meeting at 2.47 pm.

Mr Jim Hamilton and Ms Julie Gillespie, officials from OFMDFM, joined the meeting at 2.48pm and made a short presentation on legislative consent. The officials then answered questions from members.

Mr Brolly left the meeting at 2.56 pm.
The officials left the meeting at 3.15 pm.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to forward additional questions to OFMDFM.

Agreed: The clerk will bring forward proposals for a short visit to the Scottish Parliament to discuss issues relevant to legislative consent.

7. Motions for Debate
(a) SO18 Ministerial Statements

The Committee considered a draft motion for debate in Plenary.
Agreed: The Committee agreed the draft motion for debate.

(b) SO27 Voting when Speaker’s decision is challenged

The Committee considered a draft motion for debate in the Plenary.
Agreed: The Committee agreed the draft motion.

8. SO81 - Interpretation

The Committee considered a paper on issues surrounding the interpretation and application of the terms ‘working days’, ‘sitting days’ and ‘days’.

Agreed: The Committee agreed to refer the issue to the draftsperson for definitions for its consideration.

9. Review of Standing Orders

The Committee considered a paper on the review of Standing Orders undertaken to date.

Agreed: It was agreed that members would consult with party colleagues on the priority of those Standing Orders yet to be reviewed.
Agreed: It was agreed that the clerk would prepare a paper on the priorities for the next meeting.

10. Correspondence

The Committee considered a letter of 6 February 2009 from the Speaker about the need for changes to SO10(2) and SO10(3).

Agreed: The Committee agreed that although no action was required at present, it would place the matter on its “items for review” list and reconsider in the future.

11. AOB

There were no items for discussion.

12. Date, Time and Place of next meeting

The next meeting of the Committee will take place on Tuesday, 31 March 2009 at 2.00 pm in Room 144, Parliament Buildings.

The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 3.33 pm.

Lord Morrow, Chairperson
Committee on Procedures

03 February 09 / Menu