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Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

moved Amendment No. 48: 48: Schedule 5, page 44, leave out lines 39 and 40 The noble Baroness said: The amendment provides the Government with the opportunity to explain why, in this model for a department with policing and justice, a Member of the Assembly is excluded from standing for election to be the Minister or Deputy Minister of that department if they do not belong to the largest or second-largest designation. This exclusion does not apply to any of the other models introduced in the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006, which amended the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Why have the Government specifically put this in this model? If the Assembly is allowed to choose any of its Members which it believes fit to hold the position of Minister of policing and justice under the models discussed by Parliament last year, why is it prevented from exercising that freedom of choice under this model? I probably have to declare an interest in that the Alliance Party is our sister party in Parliament. I beg to move.