COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS AND PRIVILEGES
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
WEDNESDAY, 30th JANUARY 2008
Room 135, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present:
Mrs Carmel Hanna (Chairperson)
Mr Allan Bresland
Mr Alex Easton
Mr Alastair Ross
Mr Willie Clarke
Mr Brian Wilson
In Attendance:
Dr Kevin Pelan (Clerk to the Committee)
Miss Eleanor Murphy (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Miss Carla Campbell (Clerical Supervisor)
Mr Lindsay Dundas (Clerical Officer)
Apologies:
Mr Francie Brolly
Mr George Savage
Rev Robert Coulter
Mr David Hilditch
Mrs Claire McGill
The meeting opened at 2.05pm in closed session.
Chairperson’s Introduction
The Chairperson welcomed Members to the eighteenth meeting of the Committee.
Agreed: Members agreed to hold the meeting in closed session.
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Apologies.
Apologies are detailed above.
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Declaration of Interests.
The Chairperson reminded Members of their obligation to declare any relevant pecuniary or other interests before and during each Committee meeting.
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Draft minutes of the meeting held on 16 th January 2008.
Agreed: The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting of the 16 th January 2008.
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Matters Arising.
There were no matters arising.
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Review of the ‘Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members’: The Rectification Procedure.
The Committee considered a paper on the Rectification Procedure. Members discussed what role, if any, the Interim Assembly Commissioner for Standards should have in respect of the rectification procedure.
Agreed: Members agreed to propose in the draft consultation document, the adoption of a rectification procedure for minor or inadvertent failures to declare or register interests.
Agreed: Members agreed to propose that minor or inadvertent failures to register or declare interests should be referred to the Interim Commissioner to assess whether the rectification procedure should be applied but that the Committee would make the final decision based on the Interim Commissioner’s deliberations.
Agreed: The Committee agreed for purposes of the draft, at this stage, that the rectification procedure would only apply to the registration and declaration of interests and would not apply to misuse of Assembly stationery and postage.
Agreed: Members agreed that the Clerk investigate options for the handling complaints on the misuse of stationery and postage.
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Review of the Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members: Category 4 (Sponsorships).
The Clerk advised Members that a paper from the Electoral Commission on the impact of the new political donations regulations on the categories of registrable interests was not yet available.
Agreed: Members agreed to defer consideration on Category 4 until the paper from the Electoral Commission was available.
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AOB.
All Party Groups
The Chairperson advised Members that an All Party Group on Autism had been registered.
The Chairperson informed Members that Committee staff had received a significant number of requests for information on the Groups. The Clerk informed Members that information on All Party Groups was available in the Register of All Party Groups in the library but was it would be preferable if this information could be made more publicly accessible by placing it on the Assembly website.
Agreed: Members agreed that the Clerk write to the Chairperson of each registered Group requesting permission publish information about each group on the Assembly website.
Newsletter Article
The Chairperson informed that the Interim Commissioner had requested a meeting with her in regards an article in the Newsletter which had misrepresented the Interim Commissioner and the Committee. This related to the Committee’s deliberations on a complaint against a Member. The Chairperson informed Members that the discussion with the Interim Commissioner had taken place prior to the beginning of the committee meeting.
Agreed: the Committee agreed that the Clerk should draft a letter to the editor of the Newsletter asking for the inaccuracies in the article to be rectified and for clarification on a number of points contained in the article; and that this be circulated to Members for comment. The Committee discussed whether the letter should be signed by the Clerk or the Chair. The Clerk advised that all correspondence sent by the Clerk was sent on behalf of the Committee and carried its full weight. The Committee did not formally agree on the signatory of the letter.
Correspondence
The Chairperson informed Members that the Clerk had received correspondence from a Member regarding the service provided to him by the Committee in relation to a complaint which had been made against him. A copy of the correspondence was circulated. Members noted the timeline from receipt of the complaint to when the Member was informed of the outcome of the Committee’s deliberations and agreed that this was both timely and keeping with the agreed complaints procedure.
Mr Clarke proposed that the Chair’s impartiality was not in question and this was seconded by Mr Wilson. However, the motion was not moved and a vote was not taken. Members further discussed how to respond to the Member’s concerns.
Agreed: Members agreed that the Clerk draft a response for consideration at the Committee’s next meeting.
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Date, time and place of next meeting.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 13th February at 2:00pm in Room 135, Parliament Buildings.
The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 3.16 pm.