Legislative Output in the Northern Ireland Assembly

A study of Private Members’ legislative output in the Northern Assembly with consideration given to any impact ethno-political procedures and Mandatory Coalition have on the passage of Private Members legislation.

Emmet DoyleEmily Treece, Earlham College

With thanks to: NI Assembly Bills Office, Houses of the Oireachtas Bills Office, Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly Research Service, Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly

Contents

1. Introduction2. Overview of relevant Assembly Standing Orders3. Overview of the Passage of a Public Bill4. Summary of Private Members Bills throughout the life of the Assembly5. Private Members Bills; statistical analysis and comparison6. Commentary 7. Survey of Assembly Members8. MLA Survey Responses9. Conclusion10. Bibliography

Introduction

This study will seek to ascertain the reasons behind the relatively low output of Private Members Bills in the Northern Ireland Assembly, and to compare the statistics in terms of legislative output from Members with that of the Scottish Parliament, Dáil Eireann and The Welsh Assembly.

Furthermore, a survey of Members of the Legislative Assembly has been carried out with regard to their attitudes of relevant Assembly procedures and their effect on decisions to introduce Private Members Bills.

Much comment has been made of the seemingly passive role of the Assembly in terms of legislative business in the 2011-2012 term in that the vast majority of business has been Executive initiated, and indeed the legislature has had to wait a considerable period of time before presented with key documents such as the Programme for Government and Investment Strategy.

The time even in this term when the business has been slow in coming, has not been filled with Private Members Bills, though it must be included that in the intervening period, the Special Advisers Bill proposed by Jim Allister MLA has been put out to consultation.

We seek to definitively demonstrate the lack of Private Members Bills throughout the life of the Assembly and place this alongside the performance in this area of the other respective legislatures in this islands, as well as seeking to determine any other factors affecting the introduction of Private Members legislation.

Overview of relevant Assembly Standing Orders

“28. Petition of Concern

(1) A Petition of Concern in respect of any matter shall be in the form of a notice signed by at least 30 members presented to the Speaker. No vote may be held on a matter which is the subject of a Petition of Concern until at least one day after the Petition of Concern has been presented.

(2) Other than in exceptional circumstances, a Petition of Concern shall be submitted at least one hour before the vote is due to occur. Where no notice of the vote was signalled or such other conditions apply that delay the presentation of a Petition of Concern the Speaker shall determine whether the Petition is time-barred or not.”1

A petition of concern is effectively an ethno-political veto, in that it requires a vote to be held on a cross-community basis, where in the vast majority of cases, Unionist members oppose Nationalist members, or vice-versa. Several Private Members Bills have been vetoed via this procedure, either in term of advancement to the next stage of passage, or on agreement of long titles.

To our knowledge, a Petition of Concern has never been used against the progression or initiation of legislation on a cross-community basis – i.e. brought by thirty members comprising of both a Unionist and Nationalist Party.

1 NI Assembly Standing Orders, http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/Assembly-Business/Standing-Orders/Standing-Orders/#28, Accessed 12/7/12

Overview of the Passage of a Public Bill

Standing Order 30-39 detail the process a Public Bill – either Executive or Private Members Bill, must pass in order to become law. These are summarised below.

First Stage Seven days notice must be given for the introduction of a Bill Must be within the legislative competency of the Assembly, with statement to that

effect made by the Member On introduction, a Clerk will read the title of the Bill and this will constitute it’s First

Stage. It will then be printed and await scheduling for the next stage by the Business Committee

Second Stage The Second Stage of any Bill gives Members the opportunity to debate the ‘general

principles’ of the Bill Second Stage also gives the House the opportunity to negative the Bill, ending the

legislative progression of the Bill If a motion not to pass the Stage is negatived by the Assembly under Standing Order

32(2) then the Speaker will put to the House a question that the motion to pass the Second Stage be agreed.

Committee Stage On passing Second Stage, the relevant Statutory Committee will conduct an

investigation into the provisions therein and produce a report within thirty days for the Assembly, though this period can be extended if proposed

A Committee report can recommend changes to the Bill such as amendments When the Committee Report is submitted, the Business Committee will table the Bill

for the next Stage

Consideration Stage Amendments to the Bill can be tabled at Consideration Stage and will be heard based

on the position in the Bill Clauses and Schedules must be debated and voted on to stand part of the Bill The Preamble and long title stand postponed until after the debate on content has

finished If passed at this Stage, the Bill stands referred to the Speaker.

Further Consideration Stage Further Consideration Stage is used for any further amendments put forward by

Members and selected by the Speaker Amendments are debated and voted upon according to their position in the Bill Amendments to the preamble and long title are taken at the end of this process On passing this Stage, the Bill stands referred to the Speaker

Final Stage

The motion ‘The the …… Bill do now pass..’ is the motion which is to be discussed at Final Stage

No amendments are to be taken at this Stage Only when the Secretary of State signifies his consent to allow the Bill to be

presented for Royal Assent, and the Speaker is satisfied that the final Bill is within the competency of the Assembly, will Final Stage be tabled.

** It should also be noted that Bills can be subject to Accelerated Passage, as outlined in Standing Order 42.

Source: NI Assembly

Summary of Private Members Bills throughout the life of the Assembly

Below is a brief synopsis of each Private Members Bill introduced to the Assembly since devolution. It includes the name of the Bill, the Proposer’s name, the Session it was introduced in, and the result, either Fallen [in red] or Passed and the corresponding date of passage [in green].

Also included is an overview of the purpose of the Bill taken from the Explanatory Memorandum submitted with each. Under this, is the reason for passage or failure, with ‘Resolved’ being when the Assembly itself pass all Stages of the Bill in the full legislative cycle.

(1) Agriculture (Amendment) Bill 10/02Billy Armstrong2002 – 2003 Fallen

1. The purpose of the Bill is to include horses within the legal definition of agricultural animals across a range of areas.

Assembly Suspended 14/10/02: Never reached 2nd Stage

(2) Apartment Developments' Management Reform Bill (NIA Bill 4/10)Kieran McCarthy2010 – 2011 Fallen

1. The objective of this Bill is to address current inadequacies in the laws governing aspects of the ownership of certain types of private properties which comprise part of multi-unit developments (including privately owned apartments and so-called ‘Townhouses’).

Apartment Developments’ Management Reform Bill : Second StageThe following motion stood in the Order Paper:That the Second Stage of the Apartment Developments’ Management Reform Bill [NIA 4/10] be agreed. — [Mr McCarthy.]Mr McCarthy: Following extensive discussions with the Minister of Finance and Personnel and others, I will not move the Bill at this stage.

Motion not moved.

Member did not move to 2nd Stage [Relevant Hansard above]

(3) Armed Forces and Veterans Bill (NIA Bill 33/09)David McNarry2009 – 2010 Fallen

1. In July 2008 the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister of State for the Armed Forces presented to Parliament a White Paper entitled “The Nation’s Commitment: Cross-Government Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans”. One key purpose of the White Paper was to propose policies intended to end any disadvantage that members of the armed forces, their families and veterans suffer because of service in the armed forces. Some of the initiatives and commitments in the White Paper require the support of agencies in Northern Ireland. The proposals, as they apply to transferred matters, were sent to Northern Ireland for the Executive to consider.

Valid Petition of Concern on 15/02/11 (All Nationalist Members)

(4) Autism Bill (NIA Bill 2/10)Dominic Bradley2010 – 2011 Passed: 09.05.2011

1. The Bill’s main objective is to enhance the provision of services to and support for people with conditions which are on the autistic spectrum. The Bill sets out two ways of addressing deficiencies in service provision and support for such people

Resolved(5) Caravans Bill (NIA Bill 17/09)

John McCallister2009 – 2010 Passed: 16.03.2011

1. The Bill is a private member’s Bill and it has Government support. The Bill has been prepared by Government on behalf of John McCallister MLA, the Bill’s sponsor.

Resolved – (With full Executive Support)

(6) Carers Allowance Bill (NIA Bill 13/07)David McNarry2007 – 2008 Fallen

1. The Member is proposing to amend the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 to exclude the state retirement pension from consideration in the assessment of carer’s allowance. Carer’s allowance is available to people aged 16 and over who provide care of at least 35 hours per week to a severely disabled person who is in receipt of either the highest or middle rate of disability living allowance care component or attendance allowance.

Reasoned Amendment by Minister as Needing Review (positive discussions followed) – 2nd Stage not moved (6 May 08)

(7) Children's Commissioner Bill (NIA Bill 14/00)Monica McWilliams2001 – 2002 Fallen

1. It is accepted that the general situation for children in Northern Ireland is poor. Northern Ireland features at the top of many indices of deprivation. In particular, it has the highest level of registered child abuse in the UK and more children in care per head of population than England or Wales. Historically, investment in, and policy and legislative development of children's issues have lagged behind that of other regions in the UK. Children in Northern Ireland have currently no advocate within government structures.

Never Scheduled 2nd Stage – Assembly suspended

(8) Community Use of School Premises Bill (NIA Bill 1/08)David McNarry2008 – 2009 Fallen

1. There is inadequate use put to the massive potential resources of the schools estate in Northern Ireland and the Department has to date failed to take forward fully and creatively the powers it has to make better use of this public resource.

Time ran out, has not been reintroduced, post - May 2011

(9) Cyclists (Protective Headgear) Bill (NIA Bill 9/10)Pat Ramsey2010 – 2011 Fallen

1. The objective of the Bill is to reduce death and serious injury amongst cyclists.

Date Tabled to Business Office: 14/01/2011 Date Selected By Committee: 25/01/2011 Date of Plenary Debate: 31/01/2011

Time ran out, not re-introduced (Minister opposed)

(10) Hunting Bill (NIA Bill 5/10)Brian Wilson2010 – 2011 Fallen

1. The Bill will prohibit the hunting of wild mammals with dogs except where it is carried out in accordance with the conditions of an exemption.

Second Stage not agreed

(11) Local Government (Disqualification) (Amendment) Bill (NIA Bill 7/09)Dawn Purvis2009 – 2010 Fallen

1. The member’s objective is to reduce the practice of individuals holding more than one elected office at a time, an issue sometimes referred to as ‘multiple mandates’.

DUP Petition of Concern 9/3/11

(12) Single Use Carrier Bags (NIA Bill 8/10)Daithi McKay2010 – 2011 Passed: 05.05.2011

1. The Bill will introduce a levy on the supply of single use plastic bags by retail outlets. The levy is expected to encourage people not to use such bags, thereby reducing the amount of damage they cause to the environment. The number of plastic bags in circulation in Northern Ireland is estimated to range between 338 million to 390 million.

Resolved

(13) Victims and Survivors (Disqualification) Bill (NIA Bill 6/10)Peter Weir2010 – 2011 Fallen

1. The Victims and Survivors ( Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (“the Order”) established the Commission for Victims and Survivors, with the purpose of promoting the interests of “victims and survivors” (as defined in the Order) of violent incidents that occurred in or after 1966 in connection with the affairs of Northern Ireland. The Order additionally confers a power on the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to pay grants to bodies which appear to it to promote the interests of victims and survivors. The policy behind the Bill is to amend the Order by narrowing the definition of victims and survivors. The aim is to ensure that those with convictions either for perpetrating violent incidents or for membership of proscribed organisations are not treated as victims and survivors for the purposes of the Order.

Nationalist (All) Petition of Concern 14/12/10

Private Members Bills; statistical analysis and comparison

Below is a statistical overview of all Bills passed and fallen within the Assembly Sessions from 2001. Underlined are the data for ‘fallen’ Bills. As we can see from the percentage of fallen Private Members Bills, there is a massive rate of failure within the Assembly.

NI Assembly Overview

Overview of Executive and Private Member Bills

Proposed Bills Passed Fallen TotalExecutive Bills 104 25 129Private Members Bills

3 10 13

Total 107 35 142

Percentage of Passed / Fallen Bills Based on Bill Totals

Proposed Bills % Passed FallenExecutive Bills 80.62% 19.38%Private Members Bills 23.08% 76.92%

Private Member Bills By SessionSessions Proposed Passed Fallen2001 – 2002 1 - 12002 – 2003 1 - 12003 – 2004 - - -2004 – 2005 - - -2005 – 2006 - - -2006 – 2007 - - -2007 – 2008 1 - 12008 – 2009 1 - 12009 - 2010 3 1 22010 – 2011 6 2 42011 - 2012 - - -2012 – Present 1 N/A N/A Total Bills 14 3 10

* The Present Bill going through the Assembly process is the Special Advisers Bill. It has not been counted in the previous tables.

Source: NI Assembly Bills office

Overview of Bills in Scottish Parliament

Below is a statistical overview of all Bills passed and fallen within the Scottish Parliament Sessions from 1999-2011. As we can see from the number of fallen Private Members Bills, there is a massive rate of failure within the Scottish system. (Source: Scottish Parliament)

Type of Bill Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 42

Government

Introduced 51 53 45 15

Passed 503 53 424 105

Percentage passed 98% 100% 93% 100%6

Member’sIntroduced 16 18 13 -Passed 87 38 79 -Percentage passed 50% 17% 54% -

CommitteeIntroduced 3 1 2 -Passed 3 1 2 -Percentage passed 100% 100% 100% -

PrivateIntroduced 3 9 2 -Passed 110 9 2 -Percentage passed 33% 100% 100% -

Total Introduced 73 81 62 15Passed 62 66 53 1011

2 As at 20 July 2012.3 The Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) Bill was withdrawn during Stage 1. However, the Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) (No.2) Bill was immediately introduced to replace it (and was passed).4 The Creative Scotland Bill fell on the day of its Stage 1 debate due to the motion for a financial resolution being disagreed to (the provisions in the Bill were however included in the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Bill, which was introduced later in the Session and passed). The Budget (Scotland) (No.2) Bill was disagreed to at Stage 3 (a replacement Bill in identical terms (the Budget (Scotland) (No.3) Bill) was immediately introduced and was passed). The Long Leases (Scotland) Bill was introduced late in Session 3 and had not yet completed Stage 1 when it fell due to dissolution. However, a replacement Bill was introduced and passed in Session 4 and is included in the figures for that Session.5 This includes 4 Bills that, as at 20 July 2012, have been passed by the Parliament but are awaiting Royal Assent. Five Bills remain in progress as at 20 July 2012.6 This figure is obtained by including the 4 Bills passed but awaiting Royal Assent but excluding the 5 Bills introduced that are still in progress as at 20 July 2012. All Bills that have so far had the opportunity to be passed have been passed.7 Of the 8 Session 1 Members’ Bills that did not pass, 2 were withdrawn before completing Stage 1, 5 fell due to being disagreed to at Stage 1, and one was agreed to at Stage 1 but did not complete its remaining Stages before falling due to dissolution.8 Of the 15 Session 2 Members’ Bills that did not pass, 5 were withdrawn before completing Stage 1, 6 fell due to being disagreed to at Stage 1 (including 2 under Rule 9.14.18), and 4 had not completed Stage 1 when they fell due to dissolution.9 Of the 6 Session 3 Members’ Bills that did not pass, 2 were withdrawn before completing Stage 1, 3 fell due to being disagreed to at Stage 1 and one had not completed Stage 1 when it fell due to dissolution.10 Two Private Bills (the Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm (Navigation and Fishing) (Scotland) Bill and Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine Railway and Linked Improvements Bill) had not completed their Parliamentary passage at the end of the Session and fell due to dissolution, Both were reintroduced at start of Session 2 (and are included in the 9 Private Bills introduced and passed in that Session).11 See footnote 4.

Percentage passed 85% 81% 85% 100%12

* It should be pointed out, as with the Welsh Assembly, that the process for introducing Members legislation in Scottish is more difficult in that Members must find supporters for the proposals before they are brought to the House, which explains the high rate of withdrawn Bills.

Overview of Bills in Welsh Assembly

* In Wales, legislation prior to the 2011 Assembly election, were referred to as Measures. After a referendum in March 2011 the National Assembly for Wales could pass Acts. The below table demonstrates the Assembly business in the Third Term (2007-March 2011) (Source: National Assembly for Wales)

It should be pointed out that due to Welsh Assembly Standing Orders, the higher number of those Measures ‘Not Introduced’ is due to the fact that Members must seen leave of the Assembly to introduce a Measure before it is formally brought to the Assembly to begin its passage.

As of The Fourth Term (2011-2015) there have not been any Members Bills introduced.

Overview of Bills in the Houses of the Oireachtas

12 See footnote 5.

Private Member Bills By SessionMandate Proposed Passed Fallen Withdrawn1999-2003 16 8 6 22003-2007 18 3 10 52007-2011 13 7 4 2 Total Bills 47 18 20 9

Overview of Bills in Welsh AssemblyMeasure Type Passed Fallen Withdrawn Not Introduced TotalGovernment Measures 17 - - - 17Member Measures 3 1 2 4 10Total 20 1 2 4 27

Below is a statistical overview of all Bills passed and fallen within the Oireachtas, Sessions from 1992. Underlined are the data for ‘fallen’ Bills. As we can see from the percentage of fallen Private Members Bills, there is a massive rate of failure within the Oireachtas, as with the NI Assembly. (Source: Tithe an Oireachtas Bills Office)

Private Members Bills by SessionSession Proposed Passed Fallen1992-1993 6 - 61993-1994 14 1 131994-1995 9 - 91995-1996 17 - 171996-1997 18 2 161997-1998 - - -1998-1999 27 2 251999-2000 24 - 242000-2001 14 - 142001 - 2002 17 1 162002 - 2003 9 1 82003 - 2004 16 - 162004 - 2005 13 - 132005 - 2006 13 1 122006 - 2007 27 - 272007 - 2008 17 - 172008 - 2009 34 - 342009 - 2010 27 - 272010 - 2011 22 - 222011 - 2012 30 - 302012 - Present 18 N/A N/ATotal PM Bills 372 8 364

Commentary

From an analysis on Private Members Bills in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the figures unsurprisingly show that the number of PMB’s introduced and passed are significantly lower than the amount of Executive Bills.

According to the research only fourteen Private Members Bills’ have been introduced into the Assembly. Of those fourteen, only three have been passed, creating a meagre passing rate. Whereas Executive Bills has an eighty percent passing rate, meaning over ninety-seven percent of Bills passed in the Assembly are Executive Bills.

The Private Members Bills that have been passed in the Assembly are the Single Use Carrier Bags (NIA Bill 8/10), Autism Bill (NIA Bill 2/10), and Caravans Bill (NIA Bill 17/09). Both the Autism Bill and Caravans Bill were resolved by the Assembly passing all stages, while the Single Use Carrier Bags Bill passed with a small opposition comprised of both Nationalist and Unionist Members. From the evidence presented here, one can infer that the cross party consensus on these issues helped greatly in the passing of the Bills. The majority of Private Members Bills that fall are due to:

a) a Petition of Concernb) the Member not moving the Bill to the second stagec) or the Bill falling on a break (election/suspension) and failing to be reintroduced.

The same data was compiled throughout the other legislative bodies in these islands. Here comparisons were drawn between the PMB’s in the Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament, and Dáil Eireann. As shown from the data tables a similar pattern to the Northern Ireland Assembly begins to emerge.

There is a low amount of Private Members Bills’ introduced in each of the legislative systems. In Dáil Eireann there have been 460 bills passed from 1992 to present. Of those passed only eight have been introduced and passed as Private Member Bills. In Scotland, of the 222 Bills introduced, only 18 have been introduced and passed as Private Member Bills. In Wales, of the Measures quotes, 27 were introduced, yet only 3 of these were passed as Private Members Measures.

We attempted to ascertain whether support from the relevant NI Minister was a factor in the success of a Bill passing through the Assembly, but we received little response from Members and relevant Ministers, so no comparable evidence could be used. However, from the Party voting outcomes in the vast majority of Private Members legislation, one can determine how a Minister of that Party affiliation had an influence in the voting outcome of his or her colleagues.

Survey of Assembly Members

We created an anonymous survey to determine the attitude of Assembly Members on Private Members legislation and the issues that they felt affected the introduction or passage of a Bill.

The online survey was sent to all Members by email on Friday, April 6th 2012 for their comment. One month later, we had received 18 responses, with surprising results. While only a fraction of Members completed the survey, a clear attitude emerged on Private Members Bills, the Executive and the procedures within the Assembly in terms of veto of legislation.

We have compiled the responses colelcted in the next page.

The questions asked were as follows:a) Do you feel that the Mandatory-Coalition system dissuades Members from introducing

Private Members Bills?b) Does the Petition of Concern mechanism dissuade Members from creating Private Members

Bills?c) Does opposition from the Executive towards a Private Members Bill (and the subsequent

votes of opposing Executive members' colleagues) act as a deterrent to Members seeking to produce Private Members Bills?

d) Do Members place more importance supporting their Executive colleagues' legislation rather than creating Private Members Legislation?

e) If there was an Opposition in the Assembly do you believe there would be more Private Members Bills, based on the fact that Opposition Members may face a smaller chance of Petitions of Concern?

f) Do you believe the Assembly needs to have more Private Members Bills brought forward?g) What factors do you believe dissuade a Member from bringing forward Private Members

legislation? (Choice between ‘Petition of Concern’, ‘Lack of Executive Support’ and ‘Lack of own Party response’)

h) Do you have anything further to add?

Four Members responded to the final question, with one simply stating ‘No’.

Yes 4 22.20%No 14 77.80%Not Sure 0 0%

Yes 8 44.40%No 9 50.00%Not Sure 1 6%

Yes 11 61.10%No 6 33.30%Not Sure 1 5.60%

1. Do you feel that the Mandatory-Coalition system dissuades Members from introducing Private Members Bills?

2. Does the Petition of Concern mechanism dissuade Members from creating Private Members Bills?

3. Does opposition from the Executive towards a Private Members Bill (and the subsequent votes of opposing Executive members' colleagues) act as a deterrent to Members seeking to produce Private Members Bills?

44.4%

50.0%

5.6%

Yes

No

Not Sure

61.1%

33.3%

5.6%

Yes

No

Not Sure

22.2%

77.8%

0.0%

Yes

No

Not Sure

MLA Survey Responses

Yes 11 61.10%No 5 27.80%Not Sure 2 11.10%

Yes 8 44.40%No 8 44.40%Not Sure 2 11.10%

Yes 17 94.40%No 1 5.60%

6 20.70%11 37.90%

8 27.60%4 37.90%

Lack of own Party SupportOther

4. Do Members place more importance supporting their Executive colleagues' legislation rather than creating Private Members Legislation?

6. Do you believe the Assembly needs to have more Private Members Bills brought forward?

7. What factors do you believe dissuade a Member from bringing forward Private Members legislation?

Petition of concern Lack of Executive Support

5. If there was an Opposition in the Assembly do you believe there would be more Private Members Bills, based on the fact that Opposition Members may face a smaller chance of Petitions of Concern?

61.1%

27.8%

11.1%

Yes

No

Not Sure

44.4%

44.4%

11.1%

Yes

No

Not Sure

94.4%

5.6%

Yes

No

20.7%

37.9%

27.6%

13.8%

Petition of concern

Lack of Executive Support

Lack of own Party Support

Other

Conclusion

Based on Survey of MLAs:

Of the sample group, over ninety percent of MLAs believe there is a need for more Private Members Bills to be brought forward in the Assembly. Which begs the question, if the Assembly Members feel the need for PMB’s than why are there not more of these Bills being introduced?

However, the majority feel dissuaded from introducing such a Bill based on lack of executive support.

Significantly, one Member stated:

“It is extremely difficult to bring forward a Private Members Bill. Basically, if the Minister does not support your bill and he or she happens to be from one of the two main parties you have no chance of getting it through the House. Even if the Minister does not actively oppose the Bill he or she will ensure that it is so watered down as to be almost worthless. It must also be pointed out that even without opposition from the Executive , the Assembly Business Office seems to have the capacity to strangle it at birth due to the hugely bureaucratic process set up for dealing with this type of legislation.”

Petition of Concern:From the survey group there were mixed reviews on the involvement of a Petition of Concern and its impact on a Private Members Bill (PMB). Almost half the MLA’s (45%) felt that a Petition of Concern would deter them from putting forward a PMB, and the other half (50%) felt this was not a deterrent factor.

Interesting that a majortiy of PMB’s fall because of a Petition of Concern, and yet Private Members do not see this as a the main deterrent in presenting more PMBs.

Other comments from the Survey:

“Private members bills are seen as competition to Executive Business by the respective departmental officials”

“If the Executive intends to bring forward a bill they make it almost impossible for a member to proceed.”

Based on all the information collected and the input of Members via the survey, it is safe to say that the low rate of Private Members Bills in the Northern Ireland Assembly is as a result of ‘structural’ issues such as the Executive support aspect, and the impact that support or lack thereof from the Executive has in terms of those Bills given the respective Parties’ Members will support their Ministerial colleauges’ decision.

However, there is also an argument for the lack of Private Members Bills being due to a lack of legislative experience from Members or the impetus from Members to initiate such legislation – 17 out of 18 respondees states there should be more legislation, and perhaps this may change going forward.

Obviously Executive support plays a large part of the introduction of Private Members legislation in any system, but the added barrier of measures such as the Petition of Concern and its effect on the

passage of legislation in the Assembly as demonstrated, is a genuine cause of concern in that it can be used at will by ethno-political groupings within the Assembly to bring down what could well be very worthwhile measures.

Bibliography

(http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/Assembly-Business/Standing-Orders/Standing-Orders)The Northern Ireland Assembly Standing Orders, The Northern Ireland Assembly, last updated 12 June 2012