Official Report: Minutes of Evidence
Committee for Social Development, meeting on Thursday, 21 January 2016
Members present for all or part of the proceedings:
Mr Alex Maskey (Chairperson)
Mr Fra McCann (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr Jim Allister KC
Ms Paula Bradley
Mr S Douglas
Mrs Dolores Kelly
Mr A McQuillan
Witnesses:
Mr David Grimley, Department for Communities
Ms Christine Hayes, Department for Communities
Mr Stephen Martin, Department for Communities
Mr Ronan Murphy, Department for Communities
Houses in Multiple Occupation Bill: Clause-by-clause Consideration
The Chairperson (Mr Maskey): Members, we move to clause-by-clause consideration. If people are not content with any of the clauses or proposed amendments, we will discuss it and vote otherwise. Some clauses go together, so I am prepared to take some of them together.
I am working on the basis that we paid good attention to the evidence. That includes the information from the Department, the clarifications, and particularly the amendments.
I formally welcome David Grimley, Ronan Murphy, Christine Hayes and Stephen Martin. The amendments that I referred to have been provided to members in hard copy. As I said, we went through the process with the Department on each and every one of them, and the Committee appeared to be content with the clauses and the proposed amendments. Obviously, people will stop me when I want to go on.
The report of the Examiner of Statutory Rules is also in members' packs, and a minute of a letter from the Minister Lord Morrow to Minister Ford. The Examiner of Statutory Rules raised a query regarding clause 90 and the use of the draft affirmative procedure in relation to the recommendations.
Mr Stephen Martin (Department for Social Development): It is a mistake, Chair. The Bill is correct. The normal commencement procedure in legislation in Northern Ireland is that there is no form of Assembly control, and the Bill is drafted that way. The mistake is our mistake in the delegated powers memorandum. We alluded to there being a form of Assembly control on the commencement procedures, but there is no form of Assembly control in the Bill, so that is our mistake in the delegated powers memorandum, which we can correct and resubmit to the Committee if that is helpful. That is the mistake, not the Bill itself; it is our delegated powers memorandum that is wrong.
The Chairperson (Mr Maskey): OK, thank you for that. If members are content, we will move on to the formal clause-by-clause consideration. I have to seek your agreement and put these matters formally.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 1 and 2, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 3, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 4 and 5, put and agreed to.
Clause 6 (Notice regarding continuation of occupation)
Question, That the Committee is content with the clause, subject to the proposed amendment, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 7 and 8, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 9, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 10, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 11 to 17, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 18, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 19, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 20, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 21, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 22 to 25, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 26, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 27, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 28, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 29, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 30 to 52, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 53, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 54 to 61, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 62, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 63, put and agreed to.
Clause 64 (Fixed penalty: service of notice)
Question, That the Committee is content with the clause, subject to the proposed amendment, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 65 and 66, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 67, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 68 to 72, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 73, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 74, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 75, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 76 to 82, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 83, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 84 to 87, put and agreed to.
Clause 88 (Interpretation)
Mr Martin: There is a second amendment in relation to this clause that we have not quite finalised with the draftsman around the definition of "managing agent". I apologise. We had hoped to have that today, but it just has not been possible to get it finished. There is also a second amendment to schedule 2. All the amendments are here except for those two. I apologise for that.
The Chairperson (Mr Maskey): OK. We will deal with what we have. I think that you explained that last week if I recall correctly. Are members content that we deal with the amendments that we have before us?
Members indicated assent.
Question, That the Committee is content with the clause, subject to the proposed amendment, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 89 to 91, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with schedule 1, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with schedule 2, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with schedule 3, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with schedule 4, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with schedule 5, subject to the proposed amendment(s), put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with schedules 6 to 8, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with the long title, put and agreed to.