 | |
| |
S C H E D U L E S |
|
SCHEDULE 1
|
| |
PROVISIONS APPLICABLE DURING SUSPENSION PERIOD |
| |
Legislative functions |
| | 1. - (1) During a suspension period or, in the case of a suspension period which exceeds six months, during the first six months of that period, Her Majesty may by Order in Council make provision for any matter for which the 1998 Act authorises or requires provision to be made by Act of the Assembly.
|
| |
(2) No recommendation shall be made to Her Majesty to make any Order in Council under this paragraph containing a provision which would be outside the legislative competence of the Assembly.
|
| |
(3) No recommendation shall be made to Her Majesty to make an Order in Council under this paragraph unless either-
|
| |
(a) a draft of the Order has been approved by resolution of each House of Parliament; or |
| |
(b) the Order declares that it has been made to appear to Her Majesty that by reason of urgency the Order requires to be made without a draft having been so approved. |
| |
(4) Any Order in Council under this paragraph, other than an Order of which a draft has been approved by resolution of each House of Parliament-
|
| |
(a) shall be laid before Parliament after being made; and |
| |
(b) if at the end of the period of forty days after the date on which it is made the Order has not been approved by resolution of each House, shall then cease to have effect (but without prejudice to anything previously done under the Order or to the making of a new Order). |
| |
(5) References to Acts of the Assembly in any enactment or instrument (whether passed or made before or after the passing of this Act) shall, so far as the context permits, be deemed to include references to Orders in Council under this paragraph.
|
| |
(6) Orders in Council under this paragraph may be omitted from any annual edition of statutory instruments required to be prepared under regulations made by virtue of section 8 of the Statutory Instruments Act 1946.
|
| |
(7) The Secretary of State may by order direct, in relation to any suspension period, that sub-paragraph (1) shall have effect as if the number of months mentioned in that sub-paragraph (whether as enacted or as previously modified under this sub-paragraph) were increased by such number of months not exceeding six as may be specified in the order.
|
| |
(8) The power to make an order under sub-paragraph (7) shall be exercisable by statutory instrument; and no order shall be made under that sub-paragraph unless a draft of it has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
|
| |
(9) In this paragraph "instruments" includes charters, contracts and other documents.
|
| |
Executive functions |
| | 2. - (1) During a suspension period-
|
| |
(a) any functions of the First Minister and the deputy First Minister may be discharged by the Secretary of State; and |
| |
(b) any functions of a Northern Ireland Minister may be discharged by the Northern Ireland department of which he was in charge. |
| |
(2) During a suspension period any functions of a Northern Ireland department, including functions discharged by virtue of sub-paragraph (1), shall be discharged by the department subject to the direction and control of the Secretary of State.
|
| |
(3) Anything required or authorised by or under any enactment or instrument to be done to or in relation to a Minister in connection with any functions exercisable by virtue of this paragraph by a substituted authority (whether the Secretary of State or a Northern Ireland department) shall, during a suspension period, be done instead to or in relation to that authority.
|
| |
(4) Any enactment or instrument shall have effect, so far as may be necessary for or in consequence of the exercise of any functions by a substituted authority by virtue of this paragraph, as if references to a Minister were references to that authority.
|
| |
(5) This paragraph shall not invalidate anything done before the beginning of a suspension period; and-
|
| |
(a) anything which, at the beginning of that period, is in process of being done by or in relation to a Minister may be continued by or in relation to the substituted authority; |
| |
(b) any order, regulation, rule, direction, authority, appointment, authentication, approval or other instrument or act effective at the beginning of that period as that of a Minister shall continue to have effect as that of the substituted authority. |
| |
(6) The foregoing provisions of this paragraph apply to functions conferred by any enactment or instrument during as well as before a suspension period except in so far as provision to the contrary is made by that enactment or instrument.
|
| |
Subordinate instruments etc |
| | 3. - (1) Where under any enactment or instrument it is a condition for the taking of any step (other than the annulment of any instrument) or the coming of anything into operation that a resolution or motion has been passed or an address presented by the Assembly, then, during a suspension period, that step may be taken or that thing shall come into operation without any such resolution, motion or address.
|
| |
(2) Any statutory instrument made or coming into operation by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
|
| |
(3) Any statutory rules made or coming into operation by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament in like manner as a statutory instrument and section 5 of the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 shall apply accordingly.
|
| |
(4) So much of any enactment or instrument as makes the taking of any step or the coming of anything into operation conditional on the laying of any instrument or document before the Assembly, or on any lapse of time after an instrument or document is so laid, shall not apply during a suspension period.
|
| |
(5) So much of any enactment or instrument as makes it a condition for the continuing of anything in operation that a resolution or motion has been passed or an address presented by the Assembly shall not apply in relation to anything done during a suspension period or in relation to anything done previously that would, apart from this sub-paragraph, cease to have effect during that period.
|
| |
(6) No instrument made during a suspension period shall be liable to annulment or capable of being revoked in pursuance of a resolution, motion or address of the Assembly; and no draft of any such instrument shall be laid before the Assembly nor shall any proceedings be taken in the Assembly with respect to a draft of any such instrument.
|
| |
(7) Regulations made during a suspension period under Article 7 of the Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 shall not require the concurrence of the Presiding Officer of the Assembly.
|
| |
(8) In this paragraph "statutory rules" has the same meaning as it has for the purposes of the Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979.
|
| |
Assembly Commission |
| | 4. - (1) During a suspension period no meetings shall be held by the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission and the functions of that Commission-
|
| |
(a) shall be exercisable by the Secretary of State; and |
| |
(b) in the case of functions under section 40(6) of the 1998 Act (proceedings by or against the Assembly), shall be so exercisable in the name of the Commission. |
| |
(2) Any expenditure incurred by the Secretary of State in consequence of this paragraph shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament.
|
| |
Members' remuneration and pensions |
| | 5. - (1) During a suspension period the functions of the Assembly under sections 47 and 48 of the 1998 Act (remuneration and pensions) shall be exercisable by the Secretary of State instead of the Assembly.
|
| |
(2) Any expenditure incurred by the Secretary of State in consequence of this paragraph shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament.
|
| |
Implementation bodies |
| | 6. - (1) In the North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 references to the Agreement, or to any provision of the Agreement, shall be construed at any time during a suspension period as references to the Agreement, or to that provision, as it has effect at that time when read with any relevant agreements.
|
| |
(2) In this paragraph-
|
| |
"the Agreement" means the Agreement between Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and the Government of Ireland which established implementation bodies and was done at Dublin on 8th March 1999; |
| |
"relevant agreement" means an agreement between the same parties which is designated by the Secretary of State as a relevant agreement for the purposes of this paragraph. |
| |
Audit |
| | 7. - (1) During a suspension period the power of Her Majesty under section 65(1) of the 1998 Act (appointment of Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland) shall be exercisable on an address presented by the House of Commons.
|
| |
(2) No motion shall be made for such an address except by the Secretary of State acting with the agreement of the Committee of Public Accounts.
|
| |
(3) During a suspension period Article 4(1) of the Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 shall have effect as if for the words from "a resolution of the Assembly" to the end there were substituted the words
|
| |
| |
" an order made by the Secretary of State: and an order under this paragraph-
|
 |
(a) shall take effect from such date (whether before or after the making of the order) as may be specified in the order; and |
| |
(b) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament in like manner as a statutory instrument, and section 5 of the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 shall apply accordingly." |
|
| |
Accounts, reports and other documents |
| | 8. - (1) The accounts and reports to which sub-paragraph (2) applies shall be laid before the House of Commons instead of the Assembly; and the accounts, reports and other documents to which sub-paragraph (3) applies shall be laid before each House of Parliament instead of the Assembly.
|
| |
(2) This sub-paragraph applies to such accounts and reports as are required by section 11, 19, 21 or 22 of the Exchequer and Audit Act (Northern Ireland) 1921, or by Article 8 of the Financial Provisions (Northern Ireland) Order 1993, to be laid before (or presented or made to) the Assembly during a suspension period.
|
| |
(3) This sub-paragraph applies to such accounts, reports and other documents as-
|
| |
(a) are required to be laid before (or presented or made to) the Assembly during a suspension period; and |
| |
(b) are prescribed by order of the Secretary of State made by statutory instrument. |
| |
(4) A statutory instrument containing an order under sub-paragraph (3) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
|
| |
Ombudsman and Commissioner for Complaints |
| | 9. - (1) During a suspension period any report required to be laid before the Assembly under-
|
| |
(a) Article 17(1) or (2) of the Ombudsman (Northern Ireland) Order 1996; or |
| |
(b) Article 19 of the Commissioner for Complaints (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, |
| |
shall be laid instead before each House of Parliament; and the reference in Article 18(2)(a) of the first-mentioned Order to a report to the Assembly shall accordingly include a reference to a report to either House of Parliament.
|
| |
(2) During a suspension period any complaint under the Ombudsman (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 may be made to, and referred to the Commissioner by, a member of the House of Commons; and references to a member of the Assembly in Articles 9, 16 and 18 of that Order shall be construed accordingly.
|
