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Northern Ireland Bill

I shall speak to Amendments Nos. 1 to 4 in my name and that of my noble friend Lady Harris of Richmond. I accept that some of the issues being raised by the noble Lord, Lord Laird, need to be further investigated. There is some concern, particularly with the waterways. But in I think that we have always thought that the whole future prosperity of the island of Ireland lies in increased cross-border collaboration. We are fully supportive of the fact that the Ministerial Council has continued during the absence of the Assembly, though it is regrettable that without the Assembly there is much less accountability. That is what the noble Lord, Lord Laird, has drawn attention to. Clauses 3 and 4 of the Bill provide the Secretary of State with a broad power to make any consequential provisions under the Bill by means of statutory instrument. The Explanatory Notes say:"““Clause 3 provides for the Secretary of State to make by order any supplementary, incidental or consequential provision and any transitional or saving provision that may be needed as a result of the Bill. Clause 4 provides that the power is exercisable by affirmative resolution, statutory instrument, with the possibility of expedition, for orders containing amendments or repeals of Acts or Northern Ireland legislation. Otherwise, it is exercisable by negative resolution procedure””." In other words, if the Secretary of State considers it expedient, he can do anything he likes. The Explanatory Notes say:"““This power is mainly intended to be used to make . . . any changes that may be needed in consequence of the amendments made by Schedules 2 and 3, and . . . any transitional or saving provision that may be required as a result of the repeal of the 2000 Act””." If this is what these clauses are supposed to be used to achieve, why can this not be made explicit on the face of this Bill? Is there anything else that the Government intend to use this power for? Can the Minister assure the House that the enabling powers given to the Secretary of State are circumscribed by reference to the purposes of the Bill and, therefore, would lapse within the time limits in the Bill? This is a broad power and we should not be expected to accept it without further explanation. Amendment No. 2 is based on the Motion tabled in another place by the honourable Member for South Down, Lady Hermon. It tackles the same issues we deal with under Clauses 3 and 4—the very wide powers that are being given to the Secretary of State under this Bill. Paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 allows the Secretary of State to determine the proceedings of the Assembly. The Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee of the House of Lords published its 18th report, which considered this Bill, on Thursday 27 April. That committee draws attention to paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 and the powers it gives to the Secretary of State to determine the conduct of proceedings of the Assembly. The report states:"““These directions may contain provisions that are substantive and not just of a procedural nature. For example, they may include requirements as to the majority required for election””." Although the Bill does not prescribe what, if any, directions must be given in this respect, paragraph 4(3) and (4) of Schedule 1 specifies that a particular use of the power may be to require provision correspondent to Sections 16 and 18 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which set out the majorities required in elections and the formula for filling ministerial offices under the Act. The committee’s report stressed:"““We draw to the attention of the House the significance of the power to give directions so that Ministers may, if the House thinks fit, be asked for a fuller explanation of the intended use””." We would like the Minister to comment on that power and its use. We are concerned that the Secretary of State has taken the power upon himself, meaning that the Assembly is not able to decide such matters for itself.