NI Committee System

The Committee system is an essential part of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
This is where much of the real and often unreported work of the Northern Ireland Assembly takes place. It was also designed to be the heart of power-sharing in action and the place where real scrutiny took place in the Assembly.
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND & EXPLAIN THIS IN DETAIL.

A COMMITTEE is simply a group of roughly 11 MLA's who are designated a particular focus in the Assembly on which they have to fulfill a number of key roles.

There are a number of different types of committees in the NI Assembly which you should be aware of.

Each major democracy around the world has committees built into them. They frequently do much of their important work behind the scenes.

WATCH THESE
AND TAKE NOTES

Assembly Extra Bitesize - Committees from NI Assembly on Vimeo.

Education Service - Work of a Committee Part 1 from NI Assembly on Vimeo.

Education Service - Work of a Committee Part 2 from NI Assembly on Vimeo.

The Committees fulfill a number of very important roles in the Assembly:

LEGISLATIVE ROLE

They have a very important LEGISLATIVE (Law making) role. They can fulfill this in a number of ways.

They are primarily there to help produce, analyse and scrutinise LEGISLATION (Laws) going through the Assembly.
They can ask for outside advice from relevant 'stakeholders' or 'witnesses' when making these. An example of this would be taxi drivers ; customers organisations and motoring organisations for a proposed law regulating taxis.
They can also add AMENDMENTS (Changes) if they think they are needed. These get rejected or approved by the Assembly.
The Committees also have the potential to initiate or create a law themselves This is a very substantial power (Much greater than at Westminster) However, for various reasons it has not yet been fully used. The First Committee bill is under discussion now - The Public service Ombudsman bill. This was being introduced by the OFMDFM (now Executive) committee and aims at creating an Ombudsman (Independent Monitor and Spokesperson) for Public Services in N. Ireland

SCRUTINY ROLE

Committees also play a very important SCRUTINY role. They do this in a number of ways:

Their job is to make sure the area they are in control of (for example education) is efficiently managed and run.
They can hold their Minister to account - asking them questions to ensure they are doing a good job.
They are also supposed to ADVISE and support the Minister.
They can also call for members in charge of public bodies (such as the Water Service , Northern Ireland Tourist Board or in the case of Education, teaching Unions or the Department of Education Civil Servants) to ensure an efficient service.
They can also start an INQUIRY into an issue of importance in their department. For example, the OFMDFM (now Executive Committee) started a well publicised inquiry into historical sexual abuse in NI institutions. The Health Committee had an inquiry into Suicide prevention to get a strategy to help reduce this in N. Ireland

REPRESENTATIVE ROLE

Committees should also ensure REPRESENTATION.

The views of the public should be listened to at this level and acted upon.
Sometimes committees meet in different areas to show their willingness to be open to local ideas. KEY FACT: 81 Committee meetings were held in areas other than the Assembly from 2011-13
EXAMPLES: There were meetings on Rathlin island to show that Stormont is relevant and prepared to listen in all areas. Several recommendations were enacted (as you can read later)
The Agriculture committee has also met at the Ballymena agricultural show - again as a show of grass roots representation and relevancy
They are also important for lobby groups to put forward suggestions as to making policies better. Wildlife and environmental concerns have been put forward this way as have issues such as autism.

POWER-SHARING ROLE

ONE VERY IMPORTANT POINT!! : In Northern Ireland, the Committee system is also crucial. It is designed to try and encourage (or some night say force) COOPERATION within and between political parties.

Membership of the Committees is based on d'Hondt and so should mirror the Assembly strength of the Parties. So at present most committees will have a strong proportion of DUP and SF MLA's together with representatives from the smaller parties.
To operate effectively members are supposed to work together, setting aside their party differences in order to make good policies together for the betterment of all. The aim of this was to break down mistrust.
Committee chairs are often chosen in opposite parties to the Ministers. A Sinn Fein MINISTER for example (Mairtin O' Mullieor in Finance) is countered by a DUP CHAIR in this Emma Little Pengelly. See the table below to understand this.

From NI Assembly research NIAR 77-16 by Ray McCaffrey

Belfast Telegraph article on Pengelly O'Mullieor

BBC: Committee Scrutinising Minister Example

The key powers of the Committees are designed especially for the new Northern Ireland political system in 1998 and are derived from THREE main sources

d'Hondt Committee link

d'Hondt explained (BBC)

EXAMPLE: Previously, Culture Arts and Media had a Sinn Fein Minister but with a Committee chaired by DUP and made up of 5 different Political Parties.
NOTE:This is an example from the Previous Assembly but you can still use it- as long as you make this clear

THE MINISTER

THE COMMITTEE

There are 4 main TYPES of Committee in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The STATUTORY committees are especially important and make up the back bone of the Assembly.

Statutory Committees are concerned chiefly with shadowing each Executive Department.
They work on scrutinising legislation, Ministers and Departments.
They also look over proposed legislation and add amendments
They have the power to introduce their own legislation.(This is an important but underused power)

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR?

Statutory committees have 6 key powers which are outlined here.

These powers are supposed to give the committees 'teeth' to act to the best of their ability.

Here we can see that they have the opportunity to create new legislation themselves. Advise and consult with the Minister directly. Create inquiries when needed. Call for the necessary 'Papers' when needed or expert witnesses or the heads of public bodies.

These are quite far ranging powers. The question may be asked - Are they used?

Consider and advise

Consider legislation ; Initiate inquiries and make reports. Hold Ministers to account

Initiate legislation

Call for persons/papers

The ability to advise and assist Ministers over policy is highly significant:

Committees are regarded as 'Working on behalf or ALL MLA's' representing the interests of all in the Assembly in working towards the goal of accountability, good policy and good legislation.
It allows committees the chance to be informed and consulted about any policy changes or new policies
This means they have the ability to shape policies at an early stage
They have the ability to intensively question Ministers and officials about their policy proposals and budgets. This ensures maximum accountability for tax payers money.
Interest and lobby groups such as the National Trust, Greenpeace, RSPB or Royal College of Midwives can all feel accessible to the decision making process as committees are usually open to any suggestions from these organisations in order to produce the most effective policies.

The importance of stakeholders in Committees

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Vs MINISTER FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Regional Development Committee asked the Minister for full disclosure of a departmental report into the underestimation of the budget for the Coleraine to Derry railway line.
The original estimate of the project was £20m and this doubled to £40m.
The Minister refused to supply all the information requested by the Committee so the Committee asked the Speaker to issue a Section 44 (NI Act 1998) notice.
This was issued but the Minister still refused to comply so, under Section 45 of the NI Act, the issue has been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate whether or not the Minister has committed a crime.
Given that the Minister has said that he will supply the information at a time of his choosing, it is unlikely that charges will be brought.
However, the Committee feel that they should be, as an example to other Ministers. If charges were brought against the Minister, there could be a fine of up to £5k or a prison sentence of up to 3 months!

The Social Development Committee also issued a Section 44 Notice during their Inquiry into allegations arising from a BBC NI Spotlight programme aired on 3 July 2013, of ministerial impropriety or irregularity relating to NI Housing Executive managed contracts.

The Minister supplied the necessary documents but they were heavily redacted (large sections blanked out).
The Minister also said that the documents were not supplied in reaction to the Notice but because, by that stage, permission had been granted by relevant parties.

Minister briefs Education Committee - 27 09 2011 from NI Assembly on Vimeo.

One key aim of the committees is to help produce and scrutinise the relevant legislation in their departments.

They go through the bills 'line by line' SUGGESTING AMENDMENTS (changes) where necessary.
YOUR EXAMPLES:
In the TAXI BILL, 72 amendments were suggested.
In the RESERVOIR BILL, 200 amendments were produced (Mostly by the Agriculture Committee)
The amendments are only accepted with a vote in the Assembly in the next stage of the legislative process.
An example of an amendment would be one to do with 2011 HIGH HEDGES ACT. The Committee successfully added an amendment which allowed people who successfully complained to the council about High hedge problems to get their money back - something which is not done elsewhere.
From 2010- March 2013 12 Bills passed through the COMMITTEE STAGE of the legislative process

The Bill with the greatest number of amendments is the current Reservoirs Bill. Over 200 amendments were tabled at Consideration Stage after the Agriculture Committee raised a number of concerns during Committee Stage. The Minister agreed to amend the Bill. There will a further opportunity to amend the Bill at Further Consideration Stage, so it may be altered further.
Lord Morrow’s Human Trafficking Bill and the Environment Minister’s Local Government Bill were also heavily amended.
Several bills have passed through the legislative process with no amendments, eg, all the budget bills (2 per year,) plus Off-Street Parking (Functions of District Councils).

THE POWER TO INITIATE LEGISLATION

NI Committees have the much heralded power to INITIATE LEGISLATION. This is a very important and far reaching power which actually gives it much more ability to influence legislation than at Westminster! However, this power has not been barely used:

It has been used once. This was JOINTLY with the Assembly commission to produce an Assembly Members bill, which introduced an independent body to advise on MLA's wages and appointed an assembly commissioner to uphold standards.
The FIRST COMMITTEE BILL (solely produced by Committee) is currently going through the Assembly. It is the PUBLIC SERVICES OMBUDSMAN BILL and it is being introduced by the OFMDFM Committee. It aims to produce an Ombudsman (Independent, impartial, Spokesperson and Monitor) for Public Services. It was initiated by the Committee when the Executive Ministers did not follow through on their commitments to it.

THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW REASONS THIS SIGNIFICANT POWER HAS NOT BEEN USED WIDELY:

The committee will usually see the need for a bill and instead of doing it themselves (which is expensive and needs significant advice and support) it will aim to persuade the relevant minister to introduce a bill. This is because the departments will have the ability to draft the bill more effectively using the department resources (Civil Servants and Money).

If a Minister refused to introduce a bill then the Committee can bring forward the legislation themselves - effectively holding the Minister to account and embarrassing them for failing to act. (The OFMDFM have did this for the Public Service Ombudsman Bill)

CALL FOR PERSONS AND PAPERS

This is a very important power in the Committee Arsenal.

It allows MLA's the power to summon individuals or 'important documents'
It gives MLA's the ability to hold individuals to account for actions - such as NI Water and the frozen pipes in Christmas 2010 or Health officials over a hospital infection which killed up to 4 new born children. (See examples in depth below)

These powers (unlike Westminster's) ARE LEGALLY ENFORCEABLE.
If an individual or paper is not available this could be an offence with a FINE or even 3 months in jail!!

NI's bankers quizzed by MLA's

BBC link on committees

NI Assembly link

Guardian link

NI DIRECT- changes to Roads bill

Inquiry Example Below- Used Tyres Inquiry

NI Assembly Committee Inquiry into Used Tyre Disposal from NI Assembly on Vimeo.

Inquiry into the Creative Industries from NI Assembly on Vimeo.

POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE?

76% of amendments to proposed Legislation accepted by Assembly
Over 70% of Inquiry recommendations have been implemented or accepted by Ministers

Statutory committees are vital for NI Assembly to be effective—a key building block
Their COMPOSITION / membership through d’hondt forces parties of different backgrounds to share views and work together. They are designed to foster cooperation and agreement—has this been achieved? At times. On the whole they do work harmoniously and towards a common purpose. 'A COMMITTEE THAT ACTS WITH ONE VOICE REINFORCES ITS COHESION AND POWER.'
Committees are LOCALLY based and are therefore closest to their constituents—whom it will affect. Rathlin island example of creating positive change.
The Assembly has no effective opposition— Over 100 member of the 108 MLA's are in the governing executive! The Committees are to take the lead in performing this function and are important in this regard.
MLA’s having 2 or more committee positions increases their knowledge and effectiveness as a committee member and an MLA
The calling for persons and papers allows MLA’s the chance to make sure the policy is effective and broad ranging. The amount of amendments introduced on some bills (eg the Taxi bill) shows the diligence placed on new legislation
The power to initiate laws is far reaching and broad with the potential to embarrass the Minister if there is a lapse in legislation that has been previously recommended
Committees have worked well together to create some effective policies and legislation. The Cruise ship industry and creative industries such as film production have flourished in NI.
Committees have been held around Northern Ireland to bring the Assembly closer. (Rathlin ; Balmoral show)
They have produced some effective policies for communities. Rathlin island for example has a regular and modern ferry service and tourist facilities
Inquires help mistakes to be recognised and improvements made. The hospital outbreak of Pseudomonas was looked at and recommendations made. The NI water crisis in Winter 2010 brought forward proposals to prevent it happening again. The institutional child abuse inquiry has highlighted shocking stories of forced emigration to Australia.
Issues such as Suicide in the Community have been effectively highlighted by the Committees.
There has been a relatively good attempt at ‘JOINED UP SCRUTINY’ eg the horse meat scandal. This means some departments have worked collaboratively on common issues.
The committees are designed to encourage partnership and agreement (You can argue if this has indeed been successful)
Committees are highly transparent with televised and public meetings as well as fact finding missions.

Committees have a built in ambiguity to advise the Minister AND hold them to account—Is this achievable? How can they hold an Executive minister to account while advising them at the same time?
Multi Party composition does not necessarily inspire cooperation. There have been many times when DUP / SF are not talking. Are party ties and differences too insurmountable to be overcome?
Is it a real opposition? What real powers can they use against the Executive? Why would they want to embarrass their own parties? Over 100 of the MLAs are in the executive!
Committees have been described as being overworked which makes them ineffective. An MLA can be part of 3 committees. This dilutes their experience and makes them much less effective. 70 MLA’s work in 2 committees or more. They are forced to prioritise their work- drawing up a forward work programme to timetable the most important issues or legislation
The number of Executive departments has been queried as being too many. Proposals to reduce this number however will lead to major disagreements. There have been proposals to cut Employment and learning and merge it with education.
Proposals to reduce the number in each committee to 9 has also been rejected as reducing effectiveness.
Experience was definitely lacking when the Assembly was first started. Many MLA’s had little or no experience of committees are the legal process. This has been reduced as MLA’s have now had more experience
MLA’s don’t have the time to regularly investigate issues the way they would wish.
Cross community disagreements over policy can lead to delay and tension
Some MLA’s are also councillors and M.P’s on top of being committee members—This can’t be effective
The power to initiate legislation is very novel but has not been fully used! MLA's complain of too little time and too much to do. Legislation would require Assembly support .
Ministers in the past have simply ignored committee advice and went on solo runs
There remains tensions in some committees and this has led to stalemate. John ODowd the SF Education Minister has deep divisions with Unionists within his committee over issues such as school funding and the replacement or not of the 11 plus.
Big issues like parades and emblems can not be discussed in any clarity by the committees
Welfare reform crisis has also left the political system in a very expensive crisis as parties hold diametrically opposed visions of what to do.
Statutory committees are made up of the same major parties in the Executive. D'hondt simply allows them to perpetuate their powers in the committees
A member of a political party has never challenged another member of their party in the committees. A DUP or SF committee member therefore is highly unlikely to challenge a Minister from their own
Committees are often engineered to give the Minister 'protection' ie heavy hitters in the party are brought in to support their Minister.
Sometimes, but not often, parties will feel strongly about an issue and committee members from that party will not to support the Committee’s stance when the issue is debated in the Chamber. While this can happen on a ‘bread and butter’ issue, it is more likely to happen in relation to a politically sensitive issue. EXAMPLE: Following the Social Development Committee’s report on an inquiry into BBC Spotlight allegations about the actions of the former SD Minister, Nelson McCausland, the majority on the Committee concluded that he had acted inappropriately in relation to Housing Executive Maintenance contracts. However, DUP Committee members did not agree and a Minority Report, giving their views was included in the Committee’s report to the Assembly.
The influence of d’Hondt on smaller parties/independents
Every MLA is entitled to a committee place, but the choice available to smaller parties/independents will be limited, as the larger parties choose first. As a former Barrister, Jim Allister would have liked a place on the Justice Committee but the 5 main parties took all 11 places. Again, when it comes to getting motions on the Order Paper, the larger parties largely determine the agenda, although smaller parties can ask larger parties to support them in bringing an issue to the Chamber, eg the Green Party and Sinn Féin jointly introduced the ‘Votes at 16’ motion. The right to speak in the Chamber is also determined by d’hondt and on 3 March 2015, Basil McCrea (NI21) raised a point of order (query regarding rules of the Assembly) because there was not enough time for him to speak to the Committee for the Environment’s Report on Wind Energy. Since then, the Business Committee is allocating more time for motions which are likely to attract a large number of speeches. NB: there is no time limit on legislation debates – all MLAs who want to must be able to speak.

Standing Committees perform a very different and dedicated role mostly to do with the overall effective running of the Assembly and the Executive.

There are currently SIX Permanent Standing Committees

Standing Committees ALSO have the power to call for Persons and Papers

BBC: PAC reports on cost of absent pupils

BBC: PAC REPORTS ON AGRI FOOD BUSINESS

These Committees are TEMPORARY and are set up to deal with SPECIFIC, TIME CONSTRAINED ISSUES.

They have to investigate an issue and report back with concerns and solutions.
They can deal with any issue determined by the Assembly
They usually have 2 MONTHS to complete their work and REPORT back to the Assembly

2014 EXAMPLE

Mural in Loyalist area of Dundonald commemorating a Catholic, James Maginness from the Falls Road- who won a Victoria cross in World war 2

2014 JOINT COMMITTEE EXAMPLE:

The HORSE MEAT scandal that broke in early 2014 had implications for the NI health system, food safety and for the very important food processing economy in NI.

The COMMITTEE FOR HEALTH and the COMMITTEE FOR AGRICULTURE met jointly
They discussed the contamination of beef products with horse and pig DNA and set about investigating remedies to prevent this happening again

BELFAST TELEGRAPH REPORT FROM
FEB 16th 2012

This is a good report dealing with the maternity Pseudomonas outbreak and just how the Health committee dealt with it. It also shows how the Health Minister dealt with it.

Does it show a committee at its best?

Is the Minister being held to account over a serious issue?

Are improvements being made as a result of the Committee actions?