Official Report: Minutes of Evidence

The Chairperson (Mr Nesbitt): Following our post-evidence deliberations a couple of weeks ago, we wrote to the Bill's sponsor seeking clarification of where he believed responsibility for compiling the report would lie. We also asked for sight of any amendments that he might be planning to table. In your packs you will see a response indicating that Mr Agnew considers that responsibility for compiling the cooperation report should lie with the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. He also indicates that he is generally supportive in principle of the direction being taken by OFMDFM with regard to amendments. However, he advises that he would need to see the final proposals before deciding whether he believes that further amendments are required. Are there any comments on that?

As you are aware, we await sight of amendments that are being proposed by the Department before we make any decisions regarding amendments that we may wish to table. Unfortunately, the text of the amendments is not available for us to look at today. Committee staff will continue to engage with departmental officials. We hope that the text may be available for us to consider next week. Consequently, our timetable for the remaining stages of our consideration of the Bill has had to be updated.

In the absence of comment, members, I would just say that, if the circumstances arise where we do not have sight of departmental proposed amendments next week, we will then have to make a decision on whether we want to issue instructions for our own proposed amendments, because, if we do not make that decision next week, we will probably miss that boat.