Northern Ireland Assembly Flax Flower Logo

COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS AND PRIVILEGES

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

WEDNESDAY, 9TH APRIL 2008
ROOM 135, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS

Present: Mrs Carmel Hanna (Chairperson)
Mr Allan Bresland
Mr Francie Brolly
Mr Willie Clarke (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr Alex Easton
Mr David Hilditch
Mrs Claire McGill
Mr Alastair Ross
Mr Brian Wilson

In Attendance: Dr Kevin Pelan (Assembly Clerk)
Miss Eleanor Murphy (Assistant Clerk)
Miss Carla Campbell (Clerical Supervisor)
Mr Lindsay Dundas (Clerical Officer)

Apologies: Rev Robert Coulter
Mr George Savage

The meeting opened at 2.00pm in public session.

Chairperson’s Introduction

The Chairperson welcomed Members to the twenty third meeting of the Committee.

Agreed: Members agreed to hold the meeting in public session and move into closed session at a later stage of the meeting.

  1. Apologies.

    2. Apologies are detailed above.

  2. Declaration of Interests.

    3. The Chairperson reminded Members of their obligation to declare any relevant pecuniary or other interests before and during each Committee meeting.

  3. Draft minutes of the meeting held on 12th March 2008.

    4. Agreed: The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting of the 12th March.

    Mr Wilson joined the meeting at 2.04pm

  4. Matters Arising.

    5. There were no matters arising.

  5. Review of the Code and Guide: Category 4 (Sponsorships).

    6. Members examined a paper outlining the current guidance on sponsorships and deliberated upon a range of options for amendment to this category.

    Mr Clark joined the meeting at 2.16pm

    Mr Ross left the meeting at 2.21pm

    Mr Ross rejoined the meeting at 2.24pm

    Agreed: Members noted the options for inclusion in the draft consultation document and agreed that the Clerk would revise the category for final consideration by the Committee during its read-through of the completed draft consultation document.

  6. Review of the Code and Guide: Category 9 (Shareholdings).

    7. Members examined a paper outlining the current guidance on shareholdings and deliberated upon a range of options for amendment to this category.

    Agreed: Members agreed to adopt the thresholds applied by the Scottish Parliament for the registration of shareholdings.

    Agreed: Members also agreed to the inclusion of proposals in the draft consultation document to seek comment from consultees on trusts and pensions.

  7. Review of the Code and Guide: MLAs’ employment of family members.

    8. Members examined a draft paper outlining the wording of the proposed new category and considered a report from House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges on their agreed position.

    Agreed: Members agreed to adopt the revised category heading proposed by the House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges.

    Agreed: Members agreed to adopt the revised description of registrable relationships proposed by the House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges.

    Agreed: Members agreed to propose that former partners employed through Office Cost Allowance should remain on the register for one calendar year following the breakdown of a relationship should the employment continue.

    Agreed: That the proposed new category should contain a web link signposting readers to pages on the Assembly website containing guidance on salaries and job descriptions for MLAs’ support staff.

    The meeting moved into closed session at 3.07pm.

    Agreed: Members agreed to hold the remainder of the meeting in closed session.

  8. Legal Advice.

    9. The Committee considered legal advice relating to correspondence received by the Committee.

    Agreed: Members, in accordance with the legal advice, agreed that the Clerk write to the respondent outlining the Committee’s position on this.

  9. Complaint against an Assembly Member.

    10. The Chairperson informed Members that further correspondence had been received from a complainant relating to a complaint that the Committee had considered previously.

    Agreed: Members agreed that Clerk write to complainant reiterating the Committee’s remit and enclosing a copy of the Committee decision on the original complaint, a copy of which had already been sent to the complainant.

  10. Any Other Business.

    11. Members were informed that the Clerk had been contacted by a Member, acting on behalf of his colleagues, seeking approval to voluntarily register the employment of family members in the current Register of Members’ Interests.

    Agreed: Members agreed that the Clerk write to the Member informing them that the Committee are recommending mandatory registration of employment of family members in the review of the Code and Guide, but at present individual Members can register this information voluntarily under Category 10 (Miscellaneous) if they wish to do so.

    The Committee discussed a request from a Member, who had been invited by the Committee to attend its meeting on the 16th, to postpone this to a later date.

    Agreed: The Committee agreed to the Member’s request and instructed the Clerk to write to the Member inviting him to the Committee’s meeting on the 7th May.

    The Clerk informed Members that the Committee has received a new complaint.

  11. Date, time and place of next meeting.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 23rd April at 2:00pm in Room 135.

The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 3.22pm.

MRS CARMEL HANNA
Chairperson, Committee on Standards and Privileges.
22nd April 2008.

12 March 08 / Menu