NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY
BUSINESS COMMITTEE
TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2009
IN ROOM 106, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
MINUTES
The meeting began at 12.32 pm
Present:
The Speaker (Chairperson)
Mr B Armstrong
Mr T Burns
Mr P Maskey
Lord Morrow
Mr K McCarthy
Ms C N í Chuil í n
Mr P Ramsey
Mr P Weir
Present (secretariat):
Mr T Reaney Clerk of the Assembly/ Director General
Ms L Gordon Clerk of Business
Miss C McKay Assistant Clerk of Business
In attendance:
Mr R Good Adviser to the Speaker
Ms F Leneghan Assistant Private Secretary to the Speaker
Mrs M Mageean Clerk of Business
Mr H Widdis Director of Legal Services
Observers:
Mr J Dallat Deputy Speaker
Mr D McClarty Deputy Speaker
Mr F Molloy Deputy Speaker
Junior Minister Newton
Ms R Flanagan OFMDFM
1. Introduction
1.1 The Speaker noted apologies from junior Minister Kelly and Mr Fred Cobain.
2. Mi nutes of the meeting held on 12 January 2010
2.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 12 January were agreed and signed by the Speaker.
3. Matters Arising
3.1 Junior Minister Newton drew attention to Minister Foster’s current responsibilities of office, given to her dual role of Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and Acting First Minister. In this context, he indicated that Minister Foster would be grateful for the committee’s careful consideration of any items of private Members’ business allocated to her. Members noted Junior Minister Newton’s comments.
4. Finalisation of Order Papers for Plenary meetings in week commencing 25 January 2010
Speaker’s Business
4.1 Members agreed to schedule a public petition by Mr Dominic Bradley on ‘Special Educational Needs and Inclusion’ at the start of business on Tuesday 26 January.
Executive Business
4.2 Members noted the proposal for a Ministerial Statement on Monday 25 January by the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment on the Independent Review of Economic Development Policy in Northern Ireland.
4.3 Junior Minister Newton advised that there was no additional Executive Business to be scheduled.
Assembly / Committee Business
4.4 Members agreed to schedule two SDLP business motions on Monday 25 January to fill the vacancies on the Assembly Commission and the Assembly Executive Review Committee. Members also agreed to schedule a third SDLP business motion to appoint Mr Conall McDevitt to the Committee for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, provided that the Speaker received notification from the Chief Electoral Officer that Mr McDevitt had been returned to the Northern Ireland Assembly, prior to the publication of the Order Paper.
4.5 Members agreed to schedule the motion from the Committee for the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister on its ‘Inquiry into Consideration of European Issues’. Members agreed to allocate two hours to the debate, following the Committee’s request, with the usual speaking times.
Private Members’ Business
4.6 Mr Pat Ramsey asked members to reconsider the time allocated to the motion scheduled for Monday 25 January on ‘Independent Review of Policy on the Location of Public Sector Jobs (The Bain Review)’ and the cross party motion scheduled for Tuesday 26 January on ‘The Way Forward for Special Educational Needs’ from 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours due to the level of interest in both motions. Members agreed to allocate 2 hours for each of the motions, with the usual speaking times.
5. Provisional Arrangements for Plenary meetings in week commencing 1 February 2010
Assembly Business
5.1 Members noted that the Assembly Commission is scheduled for Question Time on Tuesday 2 February.
Executive Business
5.2 In addition to Question Time on Monday 1 February to the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister and the Minister of the Environment, members noted that an Executive Motion on ‘The Work and Families (Increase of Maximum Amount) Order (NI) 2009’ was scheduled.
5.3 In addition to Question Time to the Minister of Finance and Personnel, members noted that the Consideration Stage of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill was scheduled for Tuesday 2 February.
Private Members’ Business
5.4 Members agreed to schedule two Private Members’ motions on Monday 1 February and two motions on Tuesday 2 February.
Under the system of allocating Private Members’ Business, the DUP had two slots, and Sinn F é in and the UUP had one slot each.
The following motions were, therefore, proposed:
- Education Bill (Mr B McCrea, Mr J McCallister);
- Government Efficiency (Mr S Hamilton, Mr P Weir);
- Cancer Treatment (Mrs M O’Neill, Ms S Ramsey, Mrs C McGill); and
- Faith-Based Organisations (Miss M McIlveen, Mr S Hamilton, Mr M Storey).
5.5 Members agreed to schedule the ‘Education Bill’ and ‘Government Efficiency’ motions for Monday 1 February, and the ‘Cancer Treatment’ and ‘Faith-Based Organisations’ motions for Tuesday 2 February. Members agreed that up to 1 hour 30 minutes should be allocated for the debates, with the usual speaking times.
5.6 Members agreed to schedule an adjournment debate on Tuesday 2 February. Under the system for allocating adjournment debates, the selection lay with the DUP.
DUP selected the following adjournment debate:
- Withdrawal of the Easy Bus Service for the elderly and disabled in Bangor (Mr A Easton).
5.7 Junior Minister Newton confirmed that the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety was unavailable on either Monday 1 or Tuesday 2 February, and that the Minister for Regional Development was unavailable on Tuesday 2 February.
5.8 Sinn Féin indicated that they were content for their motion to proceed despite the unavailability of the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. The DUP advised they would consider the selection of a different adjournment topic, due to the unavailability of the Minister for Regional Development, and would inform the Business Office as soon as possible.
5.9 Junior Minister Newton confirmed that all other relevant Ministers were available to respond to the selected motions.
6. AOB
6.1 The Speaker asked Whips to remind their party colleagues not to walk in front of any Member who has the floor. The Speaker commented that it was both discourteous to the Chair and to the Member, and advised that he would keep a careful watch on the observance of this long-standing convention.
6.2 The Speaker asked Whips to encourage Members to attend Question Time if they had a question listed. The Speaker referred to Question Time to the Minister for Social Development on 12 January during which seven questions could not be put to the Minister because they had either been withdrawn or Members were not in their places. This matter would also be kept under review.
7. Date and Time of next meeting
7.1 Members agreed to meet at approximately 12.30 pm on Tuesday 26 January 2010 in Room 106.
The Speaker brought the meeting to a close at 12.50pm.