COMMITTEE FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
OFFICIAL REPORT
(Hansard)
Housing (Amendment) Bill
19 November 2009
Members present for all or part of the proceedings:
Mr Simon Hamilton (Chairperson)
Mr David Hilditch (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr Billy Armstrong
Mrs Mary Bradley
Mr Mickey Brady
Mr Jonathan Craig
Mr Alex Easton
Ms Anna Lo
Mr Fra McCann
The Chairperson (Mr Hamilton):
The next item on the agenda is the Housing (Amendment) Bill.
Clause 9 (Abandonment of introductory tenancies)
Question proposed:
That the Committee recommend to the Assembly that the clause be amended as follows: In page 13, line 20, at end insert
“(5) In Article 148(3)(b) of the Order of 2003 after the word ‘regulations’ insert ‘(other than regulations under Article 19A(3))’.”— [The Minister for Social Development (Ms Ritchie).]
The Chairperson:
Following last week’s discussion on the report on delegated powers by the Examiner of Statutory Rules, the Department has agreed to submit an amendment. The amendment would exempt clause 9, abandonment of introductory tenancies, from the provisions of article 148(3)(b) of the Housing ( Northern Ireland) Order 2003. The effect of the amendment will be to require Assembly procedure to be applied to the prescription of a form of a landlord’s notice to a tenant where an introductory tenancy appears to have been abandoned. The Clerk of Bills and the Examiner of Statutory Rules have advised that the amendment is competent. If members are content with the wording of the Department’s proposed amendment, I will put the Question.
Question put and agreed to.
The Chairperson:
I remind members that the Department also undertook to consider the repeal of article 148(3)(b) of the Housing ( Northern Ireland) Order 2003 as part of the second housing Bill. The Committee believes that Assembly procedure could be usefully applied to the prescription of a wide range of housing-related forms. Are members content with the Department’s assurances on that?
Members indicated assent.
Question, That the Committee is content with the clause, subject to the Department’s amendment, put and agreed to.
Clause 9 agreed to.
The Chairperson:
That formally concludes clause-by-clause scrutiny of the Housing (Amendment) Bill.
Members’ packs include a draft version of the Bill report. Members will have had the opportunity to read that, so we will go through each section, and if anyone has any problems, they can shout out.
The first section is the table of contents; are members happy with that?
Members indicated assent.
The Chairperson:
The next section is the executive summary, which runs for two and a half pages. It is all fairly straightforward. Are members content with that section?
Members indicated assent.
The Chairperson:
The next section is the introduction; are members happy with that?
Members indicated assent.
The Chairperson:
The next section is consideration of the Bill; are members happy with that?
Members indicated assent.
The Chairperson:
Finally, are members content with the section on the clause-by-clause scrutiny?
Members indicated assent.
The Chairperson:
That was fairly painless.
Are members content for the Committee report on the Housing (Amendment) Bill to be printed?
Members indicated assent.
The Chairperson:
A typescript version of the report will be lodged with the Business Office tomorrow. Printed versions of the report should be distributed next week, and the Bill’s Consideration Stage is expected after the Christmas recess.