Present:
Mr Francie Molloy (Chairman)
Mr James Leslie (Deputy Chairman)
Mr Seamus Close
Mr Derek Hussey
Mr Roger Hutchinson
Mr Alex Maskey
Mr Maurice Morrow
Mr Peter Weir

In attendance:
Mr Alan Patterson (Principal Clerk)
Ms Sheila Mc Clelland (Clerk)
Mr Joe Sloan (Assistant Clerk)
Ms Sharon Bowman (Executive Support)
Miss Shauna Mc Daid (Executive Support)
Mr Jonathan Briggs (Administrative Support)

1.1 Mr Alex Attwood.

2.1 The Committee considered and agreed the Minutes of Proceedings for 8 January subject to one amendment.

2.2 Resolved: The Committee agreed the Minutes of Proceedings of 8 January 2002..

3.1. The Principal Clerk briefed the Committee on the decision taken on recording times Members attend meetings. Records will be restricted to the times Members first attend meetings and the times they leave unless there is vote taken by the Committee during the period of a Member's temporary absence. Consideration is also being given on making public another note of Committee meetings. The Committee will be informed of developments.

3.2. The Committee considered a draft reply to the Minister on the proposals by the Public Procurement Review Team.

3.3. Resolved: The Committee agreed the draft response subject to one amendment.

3.4. The Committee considered a draft reply to the Minister on the Department's Audit and Accountability consultation paper.

3.5. Resolved: The Committee agreed its response to the Minister.

3.6. The Committee considered a draft reply to the Minister on proposed allocations to Local Strategy Partnerships under Peace 11.

3.7. Resolved: The Committee agreed its response to the Minister.

3.8. The Committee considered the response received from the Department in relation to the performance of Land Registers.

3.9. Resolved: The Committee agreed to write to the Department for details of caseloads received and numbers of cases processed since September 2001. The Committee also agreed to ask Departmental officials to attend its meeting on 29 January 2002 to discuss this matter.

3.10. The Committee noted the letter sent to the Department in relation to the performance of Land Registers raised by Mr Close at Committee on 8 January 2002.

3.11. The Committee noted the request for the Needs Analysis by DFP in Training and Vocational Education by the Committee for Employment and Learning and its referral to the Minister of Finance and Personnel.

3.12. The Committee noted the letter to the Chairman of the Committee of the Centre enclosing the DFP response to a request for information regarding the Committee of the Centre's European Inquiry.

3.13. The Committee noted the response by DFP on questions raised by attendees at the Finance Seminars held for MLAs and Assembly staff in September 2001.

3.14. Resolved: The Committee agreed to copy the response to all attendees of the seminar and to all MLAs..

3.15. The Committee noted the letter referring Mr. McConaghy's correspondence to the Department for response. The Principal Clerk also advised the Committee that he had informed Mr Dodds' Private Secretary of this action.

4.1. Departmental officials, Dr Norman Caven, Registrar General for Northern Ireland and Mr Michael Foster, Office of Law Reform attended and briefed the Committee on the policy document which will lead to new legislation in relation to marriages in Northern Ireland - The Marriage Bill.

4.2. The officials provided statistics on marriage and registrations of births by married and unmarried couples in Northern Ireland. The officials also briefed the Committee on the consultation which had been undertaken with religious organisations and the wider public before the policy document was drawn up. The officials advised the Committee that the consultation had met with general acceptance and support for legislative change.

4.3. The officials answered questions from the Committee and outlined the schedule for the introduction and passage of the Bill.

4.4. The Committee considered the policy document and the briefing received.

4.5. Resolved: The Committee agreed to respond to the Department that it was content with the consultation undertaken and the pre-legislative scrutiny without prejudice to the Committee Stage of the Bill.

5.1. Ms Claire Archbold of the Office of Law Reform (OLR) attended the meeting and updated the Committee on the consultation exercise.

5.2. In response to questions Ms Archbold told the Committee that the Department had written to the 280 organisations and individuals on the OLR database. It had also obtained lists of suggested consultees from the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) and written to them. In addition, OLR asked doctors and dentists to display posters in their surgeries advertising the consultation. Posters were also displayed in libraries. Consultation documents specifically aimed at young people and children were also drawn up and distributed. Focus groups were formed and facilitated by personnel seconded to OLR for the purpose. Ms Archbold advised the Committee that the cost of consultation was £30k.

5.3. Ms Archbold informed the Committee that to date, 29 responses have been received through the "conventional" route for OLR consultation but several hundred responses from children and young people and the Focus Groups had been received and were being analysed.

5.4. In conclusion, Ms Archbold assured the Committee that there had been a full range of views expressed in the consultation exercise and that no decision on what action to take or whether legislation will be required would be taken until the consultation period had concluded.

5.5. The Committee considered the briefing by the Office of Law Reform.

5.6. Resolved: The Committee agreed to ask the Department for a full list of consultees and for a commitment to further briefing when analysis of the responses to consultation has been completed.

6.1. The Committee considered the CVs received from potential specialist advisers for its consideration of the Rating Policy Review by the Department.

6.2. The Clerk briefed the Committee of the need to decide on selection by interview and / or paper sift. Members notified the Committee of their availability for an interview panel.

6.3. Resolved: That the Clerk seek advice from the Assembly's Procurement Officer for selection of the specialist adviser and present this advice to the Committee at its next meeting..

7.1. The Committee considered the draft Terms Of Reference presented by the Principal Clerk for its Inquiry into the Management of European Funding by the Department of Finance and Personnel..

7.2. Resolved: The Committee agreed the Terms Of Reference for its Inquiry.

7.3. Resolved: The Committee agreed that the Principal Clerk should develop a detailed work programme for the Committee to carry out its Inquiry to include a list of potential witnesses, areas of interest and research requirements. The Committee also agreed that the Principal Clerk should prepare a draft press notice for consideration by the Committee at its next meeting.

8.1. The Committee considered the response by the Minister of Finance and Personnel in relation to the amendment to building regulations to extend radon gas protection to all buildings.

8.2. Resolved: The Committee agreed that the Department should include the questionnaire phase in the consultation for the introduction of the amendment.

8.4. The Committee considered the Department's Position Report for the December Monitoring Round and briefing provided by the Clerk.

8.5. Resolved: The Committee agreed to request information on Monitoring Rounds in tabular form from the Department of Finance and Personnel.

9.1. The Committee noted correspondence received from the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly in relation to the Inquiry by the House of Lords Constitution Committee into Inter-Institutional relationships in the United Kingdom

9.2. The Committee considered consultation documents from the Department of Employment and Learning entitled "About Time: Flexible Working" and "Statutory backing for Trade Union learning representatives".

9.3. Resolved: The Committee agreed to ask the Department of Finance and Personnel for its views on the issues.

9.4. The Committee noted the letter from the Minister of Finance and Personnel regarding a review of Executive Programme Funds and inviting a response. The Principal Clerk advised the Committee that this item is scheduled as a business item in its programme of forthcoming business.

9.5. The Committee noted the response made by the Committee of the Centre in response to the Department's consultation paper on the Children's Fund. The Principal Clerk advised the Committee that this item is also scheduled as a business item in its programme of forthcoming business.

9.6. The Committee considered the request by the Committee for Employment and Learning for its response to the DEL Position Report for the December Monitoring Round to be forwarded to the Minister of Finance and Personnel.

9.7. Resolved: The Committee agreed to forward the response to the Minister of Finance and Personnel.

10.1 The Committee noted its programme of forthcoming business.

11.1 The next meeting of the Committee was agreed as Tuesday 22 January 2002.

8 January 2002 / Menu / 22 January 2002