Agenda item

(To consider further the minute of the meeting of 15^th April which, at the request of Councillor Robinson, was taken back to the Committee for further consideration by the Council at its meeting on 4^th May).

            The Committee considered further the undernoted minute of the meeting of 15th April:

“Local Government (Disqualifications) (Amendment) Bill

      The Director of Legal Services advised the Committee that correspondence had been received from the Committee for the Environment seeking the Council’s views on the draft Local Government (Disqualifications) (Amendment) Bill.  He explained that the sole purpose of the Bill was to amend the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 to make provision to disqualify Elected Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly from holding office as Councillors.

      The Director pointed out that Section 4(1) of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 currently prescribed a range of circumstances which would disqualify a person from holding office as a Councillor.  The Bill would extend the 1972 Act to preclude MLAs from being, or being elected, as a Councillor.  Following Royal Assent, it would be the intention that the Bill would be operative on the day of the next District Council Elections, which were expected to take place in May, 2011.

      The Director of Legal Services stated that the Bill addressed a political issue and an excess of 140 individuals and organisations, including political Parties, had been consulted.  The comments received were strongly in favour of the proposal.  Accordingly, he recommended that the Committee agree not to offer any objection to the introduction of the Bill.

      The Committee adopted the recommendation.”

            Councillor Robinson, at whose request the matter had been taken back to the Committee, indicated that if the legislation were to be passed in its current form there could be technical difficulties if the Local Government and Assembly Elections were held on the same date and Parties nominated the same candidate for both elections.

            The Head of Committee and Members’ Services explained that if the legislation did not take effect until the date of the next Local Government Elections, there would be nothing to prevent existing Members of the Assembly from submitting nomination papers for election to Local Councils nor existing Members of Local Councils from submitting nomination papers for election to the Assembly.  One way to avoid that would be to introduce legislation with effect from 1st April, 2011, that is, prior to the submission of nominations.

            However, that would not prevent a person who was a not a Member of either the Council or the Assembly submitting nomination papers for election to both.  While the main political Parties were unlikely to approve candidates submitting papers in respect of both Councils and the Assembly, it was possible that independent persons could do so.  If such a person were to be elected to the Assembly before the Council votes were counted, he or she would then be ineligible for election to the Council despite appearing on the ballot paper and receiving votes from the electorate.  If he or she were to receive sufficient votes to be “elected”, the question was what status he or she would have and how would the matter be dealt with?

            The Head of Committee and Members’ Services pointed out that these points had been raised by members of the Assembly’s Committee for the Environment with Dawn Purvis, MLA, who had had the Private Members’ Bill approved, and she was currently taking legal advice on the matter.  Accordingly, he recommended that the Committee approve the submission of the foregoing points as the Council’s response to the consultation on the Bill.

            The Committee adopted the recommendation.