Northern Ireland Assembly Flax Flower Logo

COMMITTEE ON PROCEDURES

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

WEDNESDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2007

ROOM 152, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS

Present:
Lord Morrow (Chairperson)
Mr Mervyn Storey (Deputy Chairperson)
Lord Browne
Mr Raymond McCartney
Mr Adrian McQuillan
Mr Sean Neeson
Mr Declan O’Loan
Mr Ken Robinson

In attendance:
Stella McArdle (Clerk)
Elaine Farrell (Assistant Clerk)
Linda Hare (Clerical Supervisor)

Apologies:
Mr David McClarty
Mr Francie Brolly

The meeting opened in public session at 2.00 p.m.

Mr Mervyn Storey arrived at 2.01 p.m.

  1. Apologies

Apologies are detailed above.

  1. Draft minutes of the meeting held on 26 June 2007.

Agreed  : The draft minutes were agreed.

  1. Matters arising

Members discussed a previous correspondence from Arthur Moir, Clerk of the Assembly, regarding the revision of Operational Advice Notes contained in Standing Orders.

Agreed : Members agreed to consider amendment to any Standing Orders that are
unclear, rather than supplementing them with advice notes.

  1. Inquiry into Electronic Voting

Committee Members were briefed by Mr Vincent Gribbin, Research and
Library Services on Electronic Voting.

Agreed: Members amended and agreed to the issue of a questionnaire to Members to
gauge their opinion on the possible introduction of Electronic Voting in the
Chamber. Members agreed that the Research paper should issue with the
questionnaire.

Committee Members were briefed by Ms Shiela McClelland, Keeper of the House, Mr Michael Rickard, Director of Research and Information, Mr David Lynn, Office of the Keeper, Mr Brian Devlin, I.S. Office. A question and answer session ensued.

Agreed: Members agreed that Lord Morrow and Mr Sean Neeson would participate in
the Steering Group which is to be set up to oversee Chamber enhancements.

  1. Written Ministerial Statements

Members noted that OFMDFM had agreed to provide some further information to the committee. As this has not been received Members agreed to defer this issue.

Agreed: Members agreed to consult with their parties to ensure that their views were
considered.

  1. Amendments to Standing Orders

Members discussed proposed amendments to Standing Orders 10(2), 15 and 20.

Agreed: Members agreed to consult with their parties and report back at the next
meeting.

Agreed: The Clerk agreed to clarify why the Order Paper was not issued until
Thursday.

Agreed: Members agreed that the Executive should be consulted in relation to SO20,
Private Notice Questions as an amendment to the wording of this would
impact on the response time.

  1. Visits

Members noted the memo on the forthcoming visit to the Scottish Parliament. Members were advised that further details would issue within a week of the visit.

Agreed: The Clerk agreed to clarify the baggage weight allowance size with the
airline.

  1. Forward Work Plan

Members noted the content of the Forward Work Plan.

  1. Any other business

There was no other business

  1. Date, time and place of the next meeting

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 3 October 2007 at 2.00 p.m. in Room 152, Parliament Buildings.

The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 4.00 p.m.

LORD MORROW
Chairperson, Committee on Procedures

27 June 2007 / Menu / 3 October