Official Report: Monday 13 March 2017

The Clerk to the Assembly: Please be seated. In accordance with Standing Order 3(1)(a), I shall now read the notice sent under Standing Order 2(2) convening this meeting of the Assembly.

In accordance with Standing Order 2(1), I hereby give notice that the Assembly will meet, as required by section 31(4) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, in Parliament Buildings at 4.00 pm on Monday 13 March 2017.

Please stand for the Speaker.

Mr Speaker: Please take your seats. Before we proceed with today's business, I offer my congratulations to all of you following the election. As well as welcoming back former Members, I extend a particular welcome to those who are present in the Chamber for the first time. I would also like to put on record our appreciation to colleagues from all sides of the Chamber who either decided not to return or were not re-elected. We thank them for their service.

Item 2 on the Order Paper is the signing of the undertaking and the Roll of Membership. Standing Order 3(7) says that a Member shall take his or her seat by giving the undertaking set out in section 40A(1) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and then signing the Roll of Membership.

As you will not have taken your seats until I have had an opportunity to check the undertaking and the Roll, Members will not be able to participate in Assembly proceedings or be entitled to the privileges of office. This means that I cannot take any points of order during this process. Members can always raise procedural matters of concern with me outside the Chamber or seek advice from the Business Office.

I will now explain the procedures for giving the undertaking and signing the Roll of Membership. I will invite Members to come forward in their party groups. I will call the parties in alphabetical order. I will then call the independent Member. When each party name is called, I will ask the members of the party to proceed through the Aye Lobby on my right. Members should then come forward to the first table to give the undertaking.

In accordance with Standing Order 3(7), Members must give the undertaking before signing the Assembly’s Roll of Membership. Members will give the undertaking by printing their name, entering the date and signing the page provided, on which the undertaking has been printed. The giving of the undertaking shall be supervised by Assembly officials. Any Member who does not give the undertaking during this item of business may do so at a later date by appointment through the Speaker’s Office. A Member may not sign the Assembly’s Roll of Membership unless he or she has given the undertaking in accordance with this procedure. My decision as to whether a Member has properly given the undertaking shall be final. The signed undertaking page will be kept as the official record of Members having given the undertaking.

Members should then move to the second table and sign one of the Roll pages. Again, Members should enter today’s date and print and sign their name, but, for the Roll, they must also enter a designation of identity as "Nationalist", "Unionist" or "Other". Members should note that Standing Order 3(12) provides that a Member who does not enter a designation of identity in one of those terms will be deemed to be designated "Other".

The process of giving the undertaking and signing the Roll may take some time. I, therefore, ask Members for their patience during the procedure.

Before we proceed, Members might find it helpful if the undertaking is read into the record:

Mr Speaker: Members, we shall now proceed. I invite members of the Alliance Party to come forward to give the undertaking and sign the Roll of Membership.

Mr Speaker: I invite members of the Democratic Unionist Party to come forward to give the undertaking and sign the Roll of Membership.

Mr Speaker: I invite members of the Green Party to come forward to give the undertaking and sign the Roll of Membership.

Mr Speaker: I invite the member of the People Before Profit Alliance to come forward.

Mr Speaker: I invite the members of Sinn Féin to come forward to give the undertaking and sign the Roll of Membership.

Mr Speaker: I invite the members of the Social Democratic and Labour Party to come forward to give the undertaking and sign the Roll of Membership.

Mr Speaker: I invite the member of Traditional Unionist Voice to come forward to give the undertaking and sign the Roll of Membership.

Mr Speaker: I invite members of the Ulster Unionist Party to come forward to give the undertaking and sign the Roll of Membership.

Mr Speaker: I invite Ms Claire Sugden to come forward to give the undertaking and sign the Roll of Membership.

Mr Speaker: Finally, I invite any Member present who has not already done so to come forward to give the undertaking and sign the Roll of Membership.

I thank Members for their cooperation and patience during the giving of the undertaking and the signing of the Roll of Membership. Any Member who has not been able to do that today may do so at a later date by appointment through the Speaker's office. Standing Order 3(6) states that my decision on whether a Member has taken his or her seat is final. I can make that decision only after examining all the undertakings and entries on the Roll. After the Assembly is adjourned and I have conducted my checks, in accordance with Standing Order 3(14), the Clerk will draw up a list of the party affiliations of Members who have taken their seat. The list will be communicated to Members via an all-party notice, a copy of which will be placed in Members' pigeonholes. I encourage you to ensure that your affiliation is entered correctly.

Having consulted the Whips and the representatives of the smaller parties, I can advise that the election of Speaker will take place as the first business at the next sitting.