Present: Mr C Murphy
Mr R Hutchinson
Mr D McClarty
Mr P McNamee
Mr A Maginness
Mr M Morrow

Clerk to the Committee: Mr J Reynolds

In attendance: Mr J Crozier
Mr J Gillespie

The meeting commenced at 3.07 pm.

1. The minutes of the meeting of 28 June 2000 were agreed and signed by the Chairman.

2. The Committee reflected on the changes to Standing Orders agreed in Plenary and expressed the view that in future, greater contribution should be sought from individuals with expertise and Members should consider the wider views of their parties before recommending amendments to the Assembly.

2.1 Some thought was given to the published format of the new Standing Order booklet. It was agreed that for the next publication the format would remain the same but by the next meeting of the Committee the Clerk should report on the possibility of producing Standing Orders in A5 size ring binder.

3. The Clerk outlined the issues which needed the attention of the Committee. Bearing in mind the decision of the Committee in paragraph 1 of these minutes, the Committee tasked the Clerk with identifying wider groups and individuals who could offer a valued contribution to assist the Committee to formulate a comprehensive response to these issues. The Committee also empowered the Clerk to seek the possibility of visiting other Legislatures, and arrange an itinerary which compared issues similar to those the Committee was currently addressing.

3.1 Regarding Standing Order 39(4) the Committee agreed to seek the wider view of their parties and deferred this matter to the next meeting of the Committee.

4. The Chairman took the opportunity to express his gratitude to the members of the Committee for their support and hard work during this period and on behalf of the Committee thanked the Clerk and his staff for their service and wished all a happy Summer Recess.

4.1 There was no further business.

5. The next meeting of the Committee will be held on Wednesday 6 September 2000 at 3.00 pm Room 152, Parliament Buildings.

The meeting closed at 3.36 pm.

C MURPHY
Chairman