The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission welcomes your views on the proposed content of its Draft Equality Scheme and Audit of Inequalities Report / Action Plan 2022-2026 and Good Relations Action Plan 2022-2025.
You can find further information each of the reports/plans in the related links below.
If you require this document in an alternative format please contact us to discuss your requirements.
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The Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 outlaws discrimination on the grounds of religious belief and political opinion in a number of areas including employment.
Article 71 of the Order exempts school teachers from the legislation. The reason for this is to enable certain schools to maintain a religious ethos.
The Bill aims to remove the exemption for school teachers from the Order.
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The Committee for the Economy is seeking your views on The Employment (Zero Hours Workers and Banded Weekly Working Hours) Bill.
The Bill will make provision in respect of zero hours workers and banded weekly working hours.
Read the The Employment (Zero Hours Workers and Banded Weekly Working Hours) Bill.
Read the Explanatory Memorandum
(These documents willl open in another window)
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We want to learn more about the challenges local women face in the agriculture sector.
We know that for decades running a farm has traditionally been viewed as a role for men but that in recent years there have been moves to try and encourage women to take up farm management as a career.
We want to understand what the experience is of local farm women, what the current issues are and how policy can be developed in this area.
We are particularly keen to hear...More
Pat Catney MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) is an elected representative from the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Lagan Valley.
He is concerned that products to keep people comfortable and hygienic when they are having menstrual periods are very costly. Some people can’t afford them and this prevents them participating fully in the opportunities they are offered in their lives, such as studying at school and college. Most of these people are...More
Colin McGrath MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) is an elected representative from the Social Democratic and Labour Party in South Down.
He has put his idea that lifesaving skills should be taught in school into a b ill (a draft law) , and asked the whole Assembly to consider it.
He wrote about his idea in a document called the Explanatory and Financial Memorandum which you can read here (opens in a new window) :
The Assembly discussed this...More
The Support for Mortgage Interest etc. (Security for Loans) Bill was introduced to the Assembly by the Minister for Communities on 8 November 2021. The Bill has now reached Committee Stage and the Committee would welcome your views on the Bill.
The stated objective of this Bill is to protect owner-occupiers receiving certain income-related benefits from the threat of repossession. Homeowners, who are in receipt of certain income-related benefits may be able to get help towards mortgage...More
Context of the Bill
It has been reported in recent years that up to 40,000 people in Northern Ireland may have a gambling problem and that is the highest incidence in the UK – four times higher than any other region and also three times higher than the Republic of Ireland. It has also been reported that children as young as 11 have problems with gambling. In many jurisdictions, gambling problems are now increasingly being viewed as also being a public health matter....More
The Committee for the Economy is seeking your views on the Small-Scale Green Energy Bill . The Bill focuses on three key areas:
To place a requirement on major electricity providers and suppliers to provide an obligatory minimum price tariff for exporting micro-generated renewable power into the grid.
For the Minister for the Economy ("the Minister") to establish a small scale green energy micro-generation scheme with powers that include setting this minimum...More
The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill was introduced in the Assembly by Clare Bailey MLA, on 13 September 2021. The purpose of the Bill is to make provision for the establishment of ‘safe access zones’ around abortion clinics.
Read the Bill
Read the Explanatory Financial Memorandum
Read the Second Stage debate
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The Defamation Bill was formally introduced to the Assembly on 7 June 2021 and, following its second reading on 14 September 2021, was referred to the Committee for Finance for the Committee Stage. In order to inform its deliberations on the Bill, the Committee has launched a call for evidence. Any organisation or individual may make a submission in respect of the Bill under the call for evidence.
The aim of the Bill is given as reforming the law of defamation in...More
Context of the Bill
The private rented sector has grown over the past number of years to become the second largest type of housing tenure. It is now larger than the social housing sector and accounts for over 17% of all housing stock in Northern Ireland. Almost half of those living in the private rented sector receive state financial support via Housing Benefit or Universal Credit to help meet housing costs.
The Committee acknowledges that the private rented...More
The Bill makes provision about the promotion and provision of integrated education. It will also provide for the reform and the expansion of integrated education.
WHY WE ARE ASKING FOR YOUR VIEWS
The Integrated Education Bill has passed Second Stage, the debate on the principles of the Bill. This means that the Assembly has delegated responsibility for scrutiny of the Bill to the Education Committee, which is the relevant statutory Committee. The Education Committee will carry out a...More
The NI Assembly Committee for Health would like to hear your views on the Adoption and Children Bill.
The closing date for written submissions is Friday, 8 October 2021.
Overview
In a statement to the Assembly on 7 July, the Minister of Health announced his intention to introduce the Adoption and Children Bill into the Assembly in September 2021. The purpose of the Bill is to update and enhance the legal framework for adoption in Northern Ireland.
...More
Climate Change is one of the most challenging issues facing our society, and how we address it will have implications for how we live, work and travel.
It is a global problem and many countries around the world have, in recent years, introduced laws and strategies to reduce emissions from greenhouse gases (GHG) that are known to be harmful to the environment.
As part of the New Decade, New Approach agreement, the Northern Ireland (NI) Executive made a commitment to...More
The Committee for Health would like to hear your views on the Organ and Tissue Donation (Deemed Consent) Bill.
The closing date for written submissions is Friday, 24 September 2021.
The Organ and Tissue (Deemed Consent) Donation Bill was introduced by the Minister of Health on 5 July 2021. The purpose of the Bill is to increase the current rate of consent for organ donation to proceed after a person’s death, by changing the current system in Northern Ireland, in which people can...More
The Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Health would like to hear your views on the Autism (Amendment) Bill.
The closing date for written submissions is Friday, 24 September 2021.
The Autism (Amendment) Bill was introduced into the Assembly by the Bill Sponsor, Pam Cameron MLA, on 5 July 2021 The purpose of the Bill is to strengthen and enhance the Autism Strategy through amendments to the Autism (Northern Ireland) Act 2011 .
Further information on the Bill can be found...More
The Committee for Justice would like to hear your views on the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Bill .
Given the limited time in which to complete this Bill before the end of the current Assembly mandate, the Committee for Justice has decided to seek written evidence on the Bill in advance of Second Stage which will take place in September 2021 and following which it is anticipated the Bill will be referred to the Committee for scrutiny. ...More
The Committee welcomes the Charities Bill , is keen to see this legislation progressed and welcomes your views.
Many of the wider issues around charity regulation are being considered by the Independent Review and are not part of this Bill.
The Committee respectfully requests that responses are focused on the Clauses of the Bill as far as possible.
This Bill is one part of the way forward in dealing with the impacts arising from...More
In exercising its statutory functions, the Committee for Finance is currently scrutinising the draft Financial Reporting (Departments and Public Bodies) Bill .
The Bill was formally introduced to the Assembly on 1 June 2021 and, following its second reading on 14 June 2021, was referred to the Committee for Finance for Committee Stage.
The Financial Reporting (Departments and Public Bodies) Bill amends the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2001 in order to allow the Department...More
The Horse Racing (Amendment) Bill that has recently come before the Northern Ireland (NI) Assembly proposes changes to the Horse Racing (Northern Ireland) Order 1990 that will enable the resumption of payments from the Horse Racing Fund ("the Fund") to racecourses operating at Down Royal and Downpatrick.
The Horse Racing (Northern Ireland) Order 1990 provides the legislative basis from which payments can be made from the Fund.
The Fund is financed...More
The Committee for the Economy is seeking your views on the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill. The Bill focuses on three key areas:
the definition of a bereaved parent
how and when to take the leave
notice and evidence requirements.
This Bill will, if passed, require the Minister for the Economy to introduce regulations creating a legal requirement for all employers to grant a period of a minimum of 2 weeks of...More
Climate Change is one of the most important issues facing our society and how we address it could affect how we live, work and travel.
The Climate Change Bill that has recently come before the Northern Ireland (NI) Assembly sets out a framework to mitigate the effects of Climate Change in the coming years.
This includes reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere and balancing the amount removed by our industries and through energy use.
The...More
The Department introduced the Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill in the NI Assembly on 19 th October 2020. This followed the Department for Communities consultation entitled “Liquor Licensing Laws in Northern Ireland”, which ended on 6 December 2019.
The main purpose of this Bill is to modernise liquor licensing laws by introducing a balanced package of measures aimed at tackling alcohol misuse and promoting responsible consumption, alongside...More
The Department for the Economy is developing a new Energy Strategy for Northern Ireland in the context of the UK Government legislative target of net zero carbon by 2050. The Committee for the Economy is carrying out a Micro Inquiry into the Energy Strategy which it will share with the Department for analysis before publishing a short report.
All responses will be published on the Committee for the Economy website as part of the publication of its Report.
...More