Committee Activities
1. This report reviews the work of the committee
since its appointment in July 2005 following the General Election.
We do not report in detail on the work of our predecessor committee
during the first months of the year before the dissolution of
Parliament in April 2005[1].
However, we wish to pay tribute to the hard work of that committee,
which produced a number of excellent reports and worked particularly
hard to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of matters that fell within
the remit of the Northern Ireland Assembly following the suspension
of devolution.
2. We note that that committee's report on Electoral
Registration in Northern Ireland helped to inform consideration
of the Electoral Registration (Northern Ireland) Bill, and a tag
to the Report was put on the Order Paper for consideration of
the bill on 24 February 2005.
3. Since the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly
in October 2002, the Committee has had the additional responsibility
of scrutinising the work of the Departments of the Northern Ireland
Executive. Although our predecessor committee appointed a sub-committee
in January 2004 to consider matters that had previously been within
the remit of the Northern Ireland Assembly, we decided at our
first meeting on 21 July that these matters would be considered
by the full committee.
4. The second half of 2005 has been a period of tremendous
significance in Northern Ireland. The political and security developments
in Northern Ireland during the second half of the year provided
the focus for the committee's evidence sessions with the Secretary
of State and with Sir Hugh Orde, Chief Constable of the Police
Service of Northern Ireland, on 26 October and 9 November respectively[2].
5. On 28 July 2005, the Provisional IRA issued a
statement which they said signalled the end of its military campaign.
The statement indicated that all units would dump arms and volunteers
were told that they 'must not engage in any other activities whatsoever'.[3]
On 28 September, General John de Chastelain, head of the Independent
International Commission on Decommissioning reported that IRA
decommissioning had been completed.[4]
The Independent Monitoring Commission's report of 19th
October stated that the Provisional IRA's statement was 'potentially
very significant' and that initial signs following the statement
were 'encouraging'.[5]
On 30th October, the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF)
announced its decision to stand down its members. This brought
to an end the organisation's feud with the Ulster Volunteer Force
(UVF) that had claimed four lives over the summer months.[6]
6. Despite these apparent signs of political progress,
the summer also witnessed serious outbreaks of violence. When
giving oral evidence to the committee on the Police Service of
Northern Ireland, Sir Hugh Orde noted the serious disorder in
the Ardoyne on 12 July 2005 during which 100 police officers were
injured as a result of Republican violence which began when the
police enforced a Parades Commission determination for an Orange
Order parade past the shop-fronts[7].
This was followed by violence in loyalist areas of North Belfast
and other towns over the weekend of 10-11 September, sparked by
a decision of the Parades Commission to re-route the Whiterock
Parade. Sir Hugh told us that loyalist paramilitary groups had
attacked the police "with a degree of viciousness […]
not seen for many, many years."[8].
Sir Hugh also noted that 150 live rounds were fired at police
officers during the disturbances, an attack described as "unique
in 35 years of history".[9]
We commend the PSNI for the courage and professionalism that
they showed in response to the violence of 12 July and the weekend
of 10-11 September.
7. The Independent Monitoring Commission noted in
October that "because of […] paramilitary involvement,
organised crime is the biggest long term threat to the rule of
law in Northern Ireland."[10]
The Secretary of State told us that "a great deal [was] being
done by the organised crime task force" and that in the past
year, 28 organised criminal gangs had been disrupted or dismantled,
nearly £12 million in assets had been restrained or confiscated
, and £9.5 million worth of drugs and £7 million worth
of counterfeit goods had been seized[11].
Sir Hugh Orde also told us of the success that the Police Service
of Northern Ireland had enjoyed in combating organised crime[12].
However, this committee shares the concerns of the Independent
Monitoring Commission about the threat posed by organised crime
to the long-term peace and security of Northern Ireland. An inquiry
into organised crime in Northern Ireland will be the main focus
for the work of the Committee during the first half of 2006.
8. The Committee had the first opportunity to question
the Secretary of State about his proposed "on-the-runs"
legislation when he appeared before us on 26 October 2005, prior
to publication of the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill[13].
The Committee offered to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny of
the legislation[14] and
we regretted that the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill was published
without the Committee being given an opportunity to examine the
legislation in draft. We note the Government's decision of 11
January 2006 to withdraw the Bill and we welcome the Secretary
of State's commitment that the Government will "be mindful"
of the views of the committee when considering how to proceed
on this issue[15].
We believe that if legislation is to be brought forward in future
on this most controversial of issues it should be published first
in draft for consideration by this committee.
9. The Committee's work is discussed below in the
light of the 'core tasks' for select committees that were proposed
by the Liaison Committee in 2002 and approved by the House on
14 May 2002[16]. The
'core tasks' will continue to provide an important framework to
our work in 2006.
10. We wish to continue the commitment of our predecessors
to meet regularly in Northern Ireland in the exercise of our remit
and to hold public meetings in Northern Ireland. The Committee
first visited Belfast on 17-18 October 2005 and held meetings
with representatives of the Organised Crime Task Force, the Police
Ombudsman and the Policing Board. We also took the opportunity
to meet representatives of a range of organisations in Northern
Ireland, including the CBI, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive,
the Northern Ireland Committee of Irish Congress of Trade Unions,
the Special European Union Programmes Body and Invest Northern
Ireland.
11. We also visited Belfast and Londonderry on 28-29
November 2005 to take oral evidence in two particular areas where
major policy decisions had been taken. The Committee had received
a number of submissions concerning the Government's plans to change
the provision of post-primary education in Northern Ireland; the
then Minister for Education, Jane Kennedy MP, had announced the
ending of academic selection with the last transfer tests to be
held in 2008. The Committee took evidence in Belfast from a range
of organisations offering different perspectives on the Government's
proposals and visited four schools, two grammar and two secondary
schools, in Belfast and Londonderry.
12. The Government's proposal for a draft Order to
bring in the new post-primary provisions was published on 6 December
and the Committee took evidence from Angela Smith MP, the Minister
for Education on 14 December on the government's proposal. The
committee was keen, given the continued suspension of the Assembly,
to provide some opportunity for parliamentary consideration of
the issues raised before the draft Order is laid before Parliament.
Although we came too late to the subject for there to be sense
in conducting a full inquiry into the merits of the original decision,
we hope that our short report together with the oral and written
evidence that we took will be taken as a contribution to the consultation
on the proposal[17].
13. Whilst in Londonderry, the Committee also met
city councillors privately to discuss the outcome of the Review
of Public Administration, which was published on 22 November.
The Review was launched by the Northern Ireland Executive in
June 2002; its terms of reference were to "review the existing
arrangements for the accountability, development, administration
and delivery of public services in Northern Ireland, and to bring
forward options for reform which are consistent with the arrangements
and principles of the Belfast Agreement, within an appropriate
framework of political and financial accountability".
In the period of suspension, the review was taken forward
by the Northern Ireland Office, led by a small team of civil servants
and complemented by a panel of five independent experts.
14. The Committee took formal evidence from members
of the Review Team, together with members of the Panel of Independent
Experts and representatives of Northern Ireland Government Departments[18].
The Review consultation proposed a reduction in the number of
local authorities in Northern Ireland from 26 to either 15, 11
or seven. We asked the Secretary of State for the rationale behind
the Government's decision to opt for a model of seven local authorities
in Northern Ireland when a number of consultees, including each
of the political parties in Northern Ireland with the exception
of Sinn Fein, had expressed concerns that this would lead to a
"sectarian carve up" of Northern Ireland[19];
we print our correspondence with him together with the formal
evidence that we took[20].
15. The Committee did not have the opportunity to
examine any legislation in draft during the period of this report.
However, we welcome the commitment made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State, Shaun Woodward MP, during the Report stage of the Terrorism
(Northern Ireland) Bill to provide for pre-legislative scrutiny
of proposals to be brought forward next summer for a replacement
to the Diplock courts.[21]
We urge the Government to ensure that proposals are published
in draft in good time for the committee to consider them.
16. The Committee has a wide remit, and we intend
to continue the practice of our predecessor committee of holding
informal and formal meetings with executive agencies and non-departmental
public bodies of the Northern Ireland Office both during our visits
to Northern Ireland and in Westminster. During the continued suspension
of devolution, it is even more important that the committee maintains
a watching brief over the operations of a range of organisations
in addition to its more substantial inquiries.
17. In addition to the meetings listed in paragraph
10 in Belfast, the Committee met the newly appointed Chief Commissioner
for Human Rights in Northern Ireland, Professor Monica McWilliams
for a private meeting on 16 November, together with Commissioners
Professor Colin Harvey and Jonathan Bell, also appointed in June
2005, and officers of the Commission. The Committee also met
Anne Owers, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, for a private
meeting on 7 December, whose offices are employed by Criminal
Justice Inspection Northern Ireland to inspect prisons in Northern
Ireland. We hope to meet Mr Kit Chivers, the Chief Inspector of
Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland, during 2006.
Departmental administration and
expenditure
18. We have carried out an examination of the Northern
Ireland Office Departmental Annual Report 2005 by correspondence.
Our questions to the Department and the responses provided are
reproduced at Appendix 1. Overall, the Committee commends the
Department on the clear and concise format and presentation of
the Report. We note the challenging targets for efficiency gains
that the Department has set. We will examine with interest the
Department's success in delivering the efficiency savings that
it has forecast for 2005-06.
Review of recommendations
19. In our review of the Government's performance
on our past recommendations, we sought updates on The Illegal
Drugs Trade and Drug Culture in Northern Ireland; Compensation
Agency; Social Housing Provision in Northern Ireland and Waste
Management Strategy in Northern Ireland [22].
The government's memorandum to the committee is printed as Appendix
2.
20. In its Report on the Illegal Drugs Trade and
Drug Culture in Northern Ireland, the previous committee had called
for urgent research into the level of need for a residential rehabilitation
centre or therapeutic community in Northern Ireland[23].
We are concerned that this research has not taken place although
we note that a draft New Strategic Direction for alcohol and drugs
will be issued shortly for consultation and that this is likely
to contain proposals concerning residential rehabilitation[24].
We will wish to monitor future progress in this regard.
21. The previous committee, in a Report on Social
Housing Provision in Northern Ireland, had warned of an impending
crisis in social housing because of an imbalance between supply
and demand[25]. This
imbalance has further deteriorated as the number of applicants
on the waiting list continues to grow significantly while the
shortfall in new social housing provision also increases[26].
The Government notes that, due to budget constraints, the current
target for new build units is well below the Northern Ireland
Housing Executive's latest assessment of annual need for new units[27].
The committee will continue to monitor progress in increasing
the supply of social housing.
22. The previous committee's Report on the Waste
Management Strategy in Northern Ireland had warned the Government
that it faced a race against time to meet crucial EU targets on
the amount of wasted disposed of in landfill sites[28].
We welcome developments on a number of issues but we are concerned
that slippage on the completion date for the revised Waste Management
Strategy may further delay overall progress. We will continue
to monitor developments.
1 The previous Committee's Annual Report for 2004 was
published as its Fourth Report, Session 2004-05, on The work of
the Committee in 2004, HC 262; the Liaison Committee's review
of the work of Select Committees is printed as its First Report,
Session 2004-05, Annual Report for 2004, HC 419. Back
2
Oral Evidence on Political and Security Developments in Northern
Ireland, HC 621 and Oral Evidence on the Police Service of Northern
Ireland, HC 665. Back
3
IRA statement of 28 July 2005. Back
4
Statement of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning,
26 September 2005. Back
5
Seventh Report of the Independent Monitoring Commission, HC 546. Back
6
Sixth Report of the Independent Monitoring Commission. Back
7
Oral Evidence, HC 665, Q28. Back
8
Ibid. Q29. Back
9
Ibid. Q28. Back
10
Seventh Report of the Independent Monitoring Commission, HC 546,
paragraph 5.2. Back
11
Oral Evidence, HC 621, Q71. Back
12
Oral Evidence, HC 665, QQ 19 and 23. Back
13
Oral Evidence, HC 621, QQ20 to 46. Back
14
Ibid. Q35. Back
15
Secretary of State's statement of 11 January, Official Report,
column 289. Back
16
Select Committees, Committee on Modernisation of the House of
Commons, First Report Session 2001-02, HC 224. Back
17
Education in Northern Ireland, First Report, Session 2005-06,
HC 726. Back
18
Oral Evidence on Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland,
HC 732. Back
19
Response of Derry City Council to the Review of Public Administration
Further Consultation. Back
20
Oral Evidence on Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland,
HC 732. Back
21
Official Report, 30 November 2005, column 294. Back
22
The Illegal Drugs Trade and Drug Culture in Northern Ireland,
Eighth Report of Session 2002-03, HC 1217; Compensation Agency,
Fourth Report of Session 2003-04, HC 271; Social Housing Provision
in Northern Ireland, Sixth Report of Session 2003-04, HC 493;
Waste Management Strategy in Northern Ireland, Sixth Report of
Session 2004-05, HC 349. Back
23
Illegal Drugs Trade and Drug Culture in Northern Ireland, Eighth
Report of Session 2002-03, HC 1217, paragraph 218. Back
24
Government Memorandum, Appendix 2. Back
25
Social Housing Provision in Northern Ireland, Sixth Report of
Session 2003-04, HC 493, paragraph 126. Back
26
Reference government Memorandum, Appendix 2. Back
27
Government Memorandum, Appendix 2. Question C4. Back
28
Waste Management Strategy in Northern Ireland, Sixth Report of
Session 2004-05, HC 349, paragraph 23. Back
