COMMITTEE FOR FINANCE AND PERSONNEL
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
WEDNESDAY, 7 NOVEMBER 2007
Room 152, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present:
Mitchel McLaughlin MLA (Chairperson)
Mervyn Storey MLA (Deputy Chairperson)
Roy Beggs MLA
Dr Stephen Farry MLA
Simon Hamilton MLA
Fra McCann MLA
Adrian McQuillan MLA
Declan O’Loan MLA
Peter Weir MLA
In Attendance:
Shane McAteer (Assembly Clerk)
Colin Jones (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Paula Sandford (Clerical Supervisor)
Mary Thompson (Clerical Officer)
Apologies:
Jennifer McCann MLA
Dawn Purvis MLA
The meeting commenced at 10.05 am in open session.
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Apologies
Apologies are detailed above.
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Draft Minutes of Proceedings 24 October 2007
Agreed: for publication on the Assembly website.
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Matters Arising
Agreed: that a Hansard recording will be made of today’s briefings from Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP) officials on Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) Reform; the Dormant Accounts Bill and the background to the Building Regulations (Amdt) Bill (NI) 2007 respectively.
Members noted DFP’s request that the evidence on the background to the Building Regulations (Amdt) Bill (NI) 2007 should be held in closed session, as the Bill had not yet been considered by the Executive.
Agreed: that the evidence on the background to the Building Regulations (Amdt) Bill (NI) 2007 will be held in closed session.
Agreed: that the Committee’s consideration of its draft report on the 2007 Executive Review of the Domestic Rating System will be held in closed session.
Members noted the following:
- outstanding requests for information from DFP;
- follow-up information from DFP on its submission to the October 2007 Monitoring Round;
- DFP’s response on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive; and
- further information from DFP, requested by the Committee, on the location of public sector jobs.
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Evidence Session on Northern Ireland Civil Service Reform
The Committee received oral and written evidence on the NICS Reform programme from Bruce Robinson, Permanent Secretary, and Emma Wilson, Corporate Services Group, DFP. The session was recorded by Hansard.
Officials agreed to provide further analysis of progress to date against the target for a headcount reduction in the NICS.
Mr Storey joined the meeting at 10.55 am.
Agreed: that any further issues which the Committee wished to raise would be forwarded to officials for a written response.
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DFP Briefing on Legislative Consent Motion for the Dormant Accounts Bill
The Committee was briefed by Agnes Lennon, Central Expenditure Division and Neil Lambe, Principal Legal Officer, Departmental Solicitor’s Office, DFP. The session was recorded by Hansard.
Dr Farry joined the meeting at 11.08 am.
Agreed: that the Committee for Finance and Personnel supports the Department of Finance and Personnel in seeking the Assembly’s endorsement of the principle of the extension of the provisions of the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill to Northern Ireland.
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Committee Work Programme
Members considered the updated Committee work programme until Christmas recess.
Agreed: that the updated work programme will be published on the Assembly website.
Members noted a secretariat paper detailing forthcoming plenary business of particular relevance to the Committee.
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Correspondence
Members noted the following correspondence:
- DFP paper on its contribution to the Draft Programme for Government and Public Service Agreements;
- Request from the Environment Committee: Capital Underspend 2006/07;
- DFP to Audit Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General – Annual Salary Increase;
- DFP: Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland (ISNI) - Capital Bids and Proposed Distribution of Indicative Allocation;
- Committee for the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister (COFMDFM): Handling Arrangements for Draft Programme for Government and ISNI 2008;
- Regional Development Committee (31 October 2007): Home Information Packs;
- Response from Minister of Finance and Personnel to Chairperson, Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure (24 October 2007): Big Lottery Funding;
- Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister/DFP to Executive Ministers (22 October 2007): Investment Strategy: Capital Realisation Taskforce;
- COFMDFM: Committee Inquiry into Child Poverty;
Agreed: that COFMDFM’s request would be forwarded to DFP and that the Committee would subsequently consider DFP’s input to COFMDFM’s Inquiry.
- DFP: Economic Research Institute of Northern Ireland (ERINI) Report on Industrial Derating.
The meeting continued in closed session at 11.50 am.
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Evidence Session on Background to the Building Regulations (Amdt) Bill (NI) 2007
Mr Beggs declared an interest as a member of the Building Control Group of Carrickfergus Borough Council.
The Committee received oral and written evidence from DFP officials: Philip Irwin, Head of Properties Division; Gerry McKibben, Building Regulations Branch and Bill White, Principal Technical Officer, Building Regulations Unit. The session was recorded by Hansard.
Mr O’Loan left the meeting at 12.12 pm.
Mr McQuillan left the meeting at 12.18 pm.
Dr Farry left the meeting at 12.20 pm.
Mr O’Loan joined the meeting at 12.27 pm.
Dr Farry joined the meeting at 12.39 pm.
Mr Hamilton left the meeting at 12.41 pm.
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Consideration of Formatted Report of Committee’s Response to the 2007 Executive Review of the Domestic Rating System
Members noted that, as agreed at the last meeting, the Committee’s response to the Minister had been issued to DFP.
As agreed at the last meeting, the response had subsequently been formatted and tabled as a Draft Report for the Committee’s consideration. Members noted that, apart from typographical amendments, the formatted Draft Report was the same as the response previously agreed and sent to the Minister.
Members were advised that DFP had lifted the ‘restricted’ marking on its analysis of the various options and on the initial research commissioned from the University of Ulster and that these had therefore been included as appendices to the formatted Committee Report.
Dr Farry stated that the minutes of proceedings of 24 October 2007 did not reflect the fact that the Committee had divided on whether to issue its response to the Minister.
Agreed: that, as the minutes of proceedings of 24 October 2007 had been formally agreed earlier in the meeting, the recording of the proceedings on 24 October 2007 will be checked and the issue would be addressed at the next meeting on 14 November 2007.
As the Committee had already considered the typescript response on a paragraph by paragraph basis, the Chairperson, Mr McLaughlin, proposed:
That the Committee is content to agree the main body of the Report without going through it again on a paragraph by paragraph basis.
Question put.
The Committee divided: Ayes 6; Noes 1; Abstentions None.
AYES
Mr Beggs, Mr McCann, Mr McLaughlin, Mr O’Loan, Mr Storey, Mr Weir.
NOES
Dr Farry.
ABSTENTIONS
None
Question accordingly agreed to.
Mr O’Loan left the meeting at 12.46 pm.
Agreed: that the draft executive summary stands part of the Report.
Agreed: that paragraph 34 of the Key Conclusions and Recommendations section is deleted and that the related sentence in paragraph 168 is not printed in bold.
Agreed: that the appendices stand part of the Report.
Agreed: that the Report, as amended, be the Second Report of the Committee for Finance and Personnel to the Assembly for Session 2007/08.
Members considered whether to table a motion for a ‘take note’ debate on the Committee Report.
Members noted that the Executive is due to consider the issue of domestic rating on 22 November and that the Minister of Finance and Personnel is likely to make a statement in the Assembly on 26 November 2007. It was also noted that order papers for plenary business on 19 and 20 November had already been agreed by the Business Committee.
Agreed: that the Committee will not seek a plenary debate on its Report on the Executive’s Review of the Domestic Rating System.
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Any Other Business
Agreed: a motion seeking a take note debate on the Executive’s Draft Budget on 27 November 2007, for submission to the Business Office.
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Date, Time and Place of Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 14 November 2007 at 10.00 am in the Senate Chamber, Parliament Buildings.
The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 1.00 pm.