Official Report: Minutes of Evidence

The Chairperson (Ms Bradshaw): We have with us Carolyn Mada, interim director for equality, rights and identity at the Executive Office; and James Rider, head of equality and human rights branch at the Executive Office. You are very welcome. Do you want to speak to the SL1? Thank you.

Ms Carolyn Mada (The Executive Office): Thank you, Chair and members, for inviting officials to brief the Committee on the Period Products (Executive Office Specified Public Service Bodies) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 under the Assembly's revised delegated legislation scrutiny arrangements.

By way of background, the Period Products (Free Provision) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 places a duty on all Northern Ireland Departments to specify through regulations the public service bodies within their remit that must provide free period products on their premises. The Executive Office fulfilled that requirement back in 2024 through regulations that specified eight public service bodies at the time. Since then, three additional public service bodies have been established. Those bodies must now be added to TEO's schedule of specified bodies to ensure full compliance with section 2 of the Act.

The regulations are technical and administrative in nature. Their purpose is simply to update the list of public service bodies specified by TEO under section 2 of the Period Products (Free Provision) Act (NI) 2022. The amendment will add three public bodies established under the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022. They are the Office of Identity and Cultural Expression, the Irish Language Commissioner and the Commissioner for the Ulster Scots and the Ulster British Tradition.

The regulations do not alter the policy intent, eligibility, delivery mechanism or scope of the original regulations made back in 2024. Rather, they ensure that those newly established bodies are subject to the same statutory obligations as existing specified public service bodies. The amendment is therefore necessary to ensure that TEO remains fully compliant with its obligations under section 2 of the Period Products (Free Provision) Act (NI) 2022. The Department has consulted the bodies concerned, and no objections were raised. The anticipated financial implications are minimal. We would like to seek Committee for the Executive Office consideration and approval to progress the amendment to the next stage.

That concludes our opening remarks. We are happy to answer any questions that members may have on the addition of those three bodies to the list.

The Chairperson (Ms Bradshaw): Thank you. As I look around, I see people politely shaking their heads.

Ms Ní Chuilín: It is very straightforward.

The Chairperson (Ms Bradshaw): Yes, it is very straightforward.

Thank you very much for coming to the Committee. I will just double-check that there are no questions. No. OK. Thank you.