Conclusions and recommendations
1. This
year witnessed a strong effort by the governments of the United
Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, and others, to enable the
resumption of devolved government in Northern Ireland. While final
success has proved elusive so far, we are heartened by the continuing
commitment of those involved in the talks to achieve a settlement.
Agreement must be reached if political and social development
in Northern Ireland is to continue and the promise of peace is
to be fulfilled. Those involved must continue their efforts to
achieve a sustainable agreement which will enable the speedy resumption
of devolution. (Paragraph 2)
2. In 2004 this committee
has sought to meet the challenge of the continued suspension of
devolved government by deepening and broadening the scope of its
work, as described in the following paragraphs. The pace of our
activity has increased, as has the public profile of the committee.
The examples of our work set out below are intended to illustrate
the diverse approaches we have taken to our scrutiny role and
the way in which we have sought to make a positive contribution
to key aspects of policy and administration in Northern Ireland.
(Paragraph 3)
3. In January 2004,
we appointed a Sub-committee under the chairmanship of Mr Tony
Clarke, Member for Northampton South, to consider matters that
had fallen previously within the remit of the Northern Ireland
Assembly. (Paragraph 4)
4. The Sub-committee's
major report into Social Housing Provision in Northern Ireland
is an example of the way in which we are seeking, where appropriate,
to take account of the priorities of the Northern Ireland Assembly,
and its committees, in carrying forward our own scrutiny work
of devolved areas of government. (Paragraph 5)
5. Building on the
work of the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland,
the Sub-committee's inquiry into the resource accounts of Northern
Ireland Departments has highlighted serious flaws in the financial
administration of Departments' resource accounts which must be
corrected. (Paragraph 7)
6. The appointment
of a Northern Ireland Affairs Sub-committee has enabled us to
scrutinise devolved government in Northern Ireland more effectively
than before. We consider that the results achieved by it in systematic
and targeted scrutiny of Northern Ireland Departments has justified
the decision to set it up. As we pointed out last year, the scale
of our effort on devolved matters cannot match the resources of
the Northern Ireland Assembly, but we hope that the scrutiny of
devolved matters conducted by the Sub-committee will provide a
sound basis for the work of the Assembly when it resumes. (Paragraph
8)
7. Northern Ireland
Office Ministers have given oral and/or written evidence to all
enquiries (Paragraph 9)
8. In its response
to the Committee's report on Aggregates, the Government acknowledged
that "the Committee's helpful support and encouragement [had]
been an important spur to the development and implementation of
a new [aggregates levy relief] scheme" for Northern Ireland,
and in correspondence with us the Economic Secretary to the Treasury
stressed that the committee's support had been "very helpful
in securing this successful outcome". We are pleased that
our sustained interest in this important subject over a number
of years, together with raising the matter directly with officials
of the European Commission at the point of decision, has contributed
to a successful outcome for Northern Ireland. (Paragraph 12)
9. We consider that
our report on the PEACE II programme of structural funds, taken
with our sustained efforts to follow up the administrative shortcomings
in the programme and uncertainties about its future with the government,
SEUPB, and community groups, and in Brussels directly with the
European Commissioner responsible for Regional Policy, contributed
materially to securing a more effective uptake of PEACE II funding,
much needed administrative improvements, and European Commission
support for an extension to the programme in 2005 and 2006. (Paragraph
16)
10. We understand
fully the sensitivity of the parades' issue in Northern Ireland,
and the competing pressures on Ministers and officials, particularly
in pursuing a resolution to the currently stalled devolution process.
We also appreciate the importance of avoiding any rush to judgement
on this sensitive subject. However, the failure of the government
to engage in a timely fashion with so important an issue has given
the impression of a lack of leadership and has been disappointing.
We hope that this uncharacteristic delay will not be repeated,
and that the government will now respond to the important issues
raised in Sir George Quigley's report on parades. (Paragraph 19)
11. We have yet to
report on the substance of our inquiry into 'Hate Crime' in Northern
Ireland, but it is already evident that the actual extent of such
crime has to a considerable extent been masked, and that it requires
to be restated in terms which reflect the diversity of Northern
Ireland's society in the 21st century. While much of the evidence
we have listened to in the course of this inquiry has been profoundly
shocking, we are pleased that our work has helped to raise the
profile of this issue, and to have been able to afford some of
those who have suffered grievous abuse an opportunity to express
their hurt. Building a positive and integrated society in Northern
Ireland presents a major, continuing challenge to the government,
and to all members of civil society. (Paragraph 22)
12. The government
accepted our recommendation that the proposed draft Order to deal
with 'Hate Crime' should be amended to afford the same protection
to people with disabilities as for crimes based on hostility of
race, sectarianism and sexual orientation. The Committee's scrutiny
of this important draft legislation has ensured that a highly
vulnerable group received appropriate legal protection. We were
also able to give this task appropriate priority, in order to
keep in step with the government's legislative timetable, as acknowledged
by the government in its response to our report. This is the second
consecutive year in which our intervention has secured improvements
to proposed legislation. In both cases the government has sought
to provide us with adequate time in which to conduct a scrutiny
exercise and we acknowledge this co-operation. (Paragraph 25)
13. Draft Orders in
Council for Northern Ireland, in substance the equivalent of English
and Scottish primary legislation, are treated procedurally as
secondary legislation and therefore already receive less scrutiny
than legislation proposed for England and Wales. The government's
practice of processing Orders on 'reserved matters' under the
2000 Act - which enables the government, if it so chooses, to
put Northern Ireland legislation through the UK Parliament without
consultation in draft, or the opportunity to amend a draft Order
once formally laid- represents an unwelcome weakening of the opportunity
for Parliamentary scrutiny. We continue to believe that, particularly
while the devolved institutions remain suspended, the present
position is unsatisfactory and that the administrative convenience
of the Northern Ireland Office is taking precedence over procedural
propriety. If there are minor flaws in the Northern Ireland Acts
1998 and 2000 which appear to prevent the full operation of Parliamentary
scrutiny as intended, these should be corrected with no further
delay. (Paragraph 27)
14. Just prior to
the publication of our report, Mr John Spellar, Minister of State
at the Northern Ireland Office, issued a written statement in
the House of Commons in which he highlighted the problem of the
decline in the Northern Ireland electoral register and indicated
that the government intended to introduce legislation "if
parliamentary time allows" to permit the chief electoral
officer to reinstitute 'carry forward' as a temporary measure.
The government has yet to respond to our report on electoral registration,
and if 'carry forward' is reintroduced we shall look with interest
to see what effect it may have on the levels of electoral fraud.
The electoral system is a complex but crucial aspect of the democratic
process. It is fundamental to the normalisation of life in Northern
Ireland that electors have complete confidence in the integrity
of that system. Our report on Electoral registration in Northern
Ireland is intended to contribute to the process of ensuring that
there is an electoral system of excellence operating in Northern
Ireland. More generally, the report demonstrates the usefulness
of targeted and timely post-legislative scrutiny. (Paragraph 29)
15. This year we have
made a particular effort to scrutinise two relatively new bodies
which are a crucial parts of the new policing arrangements for
Northern Ireland, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and
the Northern Ireland Policing Board, and shall be to reporting
on both shortly. These bodies are operationally independent of
the Northern Ireland Office but receive funding from it. We paid
informal preliminary visits to both prior to taking formal evidence,
and we wish to thank Mrs Nuala O'Loan, the Police Ombudsman for
Northern Ireland, and Professor Sir Desmond Rea, Chairman of the
Northern Ireland Policing Board, for helping to make our visits
worthwhile. The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the
Northern Ireland Policing Board are important parts of the new
policing architecture which has been put in place for Northern
Ireland, and which is designed to ensure the delivery of an excellent,
modern police service to the people of Northern Ireland. Our inquiries
into these bodies are separate. However, by scrutinising them
at broadly the same time, we hope to capture a more complete picture
of progress in important aspects of policing than would otherwise
have been possible. (Paragraph 30)
16. In May 2004 we
published a report into The Compensation Agency which was set
up in 1992 to administer compensation schemes for the victims
of terrorism and other violent crimes, and those who suffer loss
as a result of action under the emergency provisions legislation.
The possible loss to public funds of £5 million as a result
of the abuse of the Terrorism Act compensation schemes was amongst
the problems we uncovered. However, the Agency is taking steps
to tighten procedures, and this is welcome. We are highly conscious
of the acute suffering of the victims of terrorism over the past
30 years in Northern Ireland. It is through the work of The Compensation
Agency that the pain and suffering of victims may receive some
tangible recognition. It is vital that the Agency's procedures
are as flawless as possible. We intend to follow up this inquiry
to ensure that the Agency continues its programme of improvements.
(Paragraph 31)
17. The complexity
of an inquiry into 'reconciliation' in Northern Ireland requires
a distinct approach. We envisage this as a process in which key
areas are considered and reported upon separately, rather than
a single, all-encompassing inquiry. We have therefore decided
to hear first from victims and victims' groups. We hope that this
work will provide the opportunity for all those who wish to engage
with us to contribute positively to strengthening the process
of peace in Northern Ireland. (Paragraph 33)
18. In his response
to our report the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland undertook
to ensure that "Careful proof-reading will be a priority
for the office in the production of the 2004 Departmental Report."
We are pleased to report that, while not flawless, the standard
of proof reading in the Annual Report for 2004 is much higher
than in 2003. (Paragraph 34)
19. The Department
stated in 2003 that it was "providing the NDPBs and Agencies
with a template to standardise the format of the Report".
The scope of information in the Departmental Report 2004 on certain
of the Department's associated bodies appears to have been reduced
in 2004. The reader of the Departmental Report 2004 will receive
relatively little information about the effectiveness of certain
of the Department's key associated bodies. This continues to be
a flaw in the Report format. We recognise the complexity of the
annual reporting exercise, but to be worthwhile the result must
be a document setting out clearly what has been achieved by all
these key bodies. (Paragraph 34)
20. The Department
has improved its performance recently in meeting its target for
answering Ministerial correspondence, but over 30% of replies
fail currently to issue within the deadline set and further improvement
is required. (Paragraph 34)
21. We hope that re-accreditation
was achieved in the assessments scheduled for December 2004, and
to see Forensic Science Northern Ireland achieve full re-accreditation
in 2005. (Paragraph 34)
22. Against those
projections, we shall look with interest at the progress which
the Department makes in achieving its efficiency target. We initiated
in 2002 a system for the Department to update the committee about
its activities at regular intervals. This has proved an extremely
useful aid to scrutiny by alerting us, in advance, to a wide range
of work in progress across all parts of the NIO and the Northern
Ireland Departments. We acknowledge the co-operation of officials
of the NIO and the Northern Ireland Departments in providing these
reports to us to time, and for responding promptly to a number
of ad hoc requests throughout the year. In general, the timeliness
of the government's responses to our reports has been satisfactory.
Two responses were received over one week late. (Paragraph 34)
23. We sought updates
from the government on a number of recommendations in past reports.
We shall be considering these in detail in due course, but are
pleased to note the evidence of considerable recent policy activity
across all the areas on which we reported, in particular: proposed
legislation giving the police powers to require motorists suspected
of committing offences while under the influence of drugs is proposed
for 2005; the prospect of a proportion of criminal assets seized
in Northern Ireland being used there; and, that PEACE II expenditure
targets (N+2) for 2003 and 2004 have been met. (Paragraph 36)
24. In 2004 more than
a quarter of the meetings of the committee and Sub-committee took
place in Northern Ireland. We consider it important that a substantial
proportion of our meetings are held in Northern Ireland on the
grounds of efficiency and effectiveness. (Paragraph 38)
25. The broad range
of informal meetings we have held in 2004 has deepened our understanding
of the current problems facing Northern Ireland. We wish to express
our thanks to all those who took the trouble to talk to us. (Paragraph
40)
| 
