AQW 21850/17-22

Mr Andrew Muir
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 20/07/2021
Answered On Date: 30/07/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Finance for an update on his legislative agenda for the remainder of the Assembly mandate.

Answer:

Please see attached table at Annex A that sets out the position of each item of legislation currently under consideration within my department and a brief note of that item’s current status or current official level thinking.

Annex A – DoF Legislative Programme

Primary Legislation

Title	Purpose	Status
Budget (No. 2) Bill 2021	Budget	Completed Assembly passage awaiting Royal Assent
Financial Reporting (Departments and Public Bodies)	Necessary to implement the Review of Financial Process.	Cleared second stage 14th June
Public Bodies Reform Bill	Review of ALBs	Review of Arm’s-Length Bodies is still ongoing. .
Social Value in Procurement		The Executive approved policy on Scoring Social Value. Was announced in the Assembly on 5 July 2021 and published in PPN 02/21. Legislation to underpin it will be developed.
Fiscal Council	To place the Fiscal Council on a statutory footing	Options regarding the approach and timing associated with the legislative timetable to put the Fiscal Council on a statutory footing in the current mandate are under consideration.

Statutory Rules (subject to Affirmative / Draft Affirmative)

Title	Purpose	Status
The Land Registry (Fees) Order (Northern Ireland) 2021 (DOF)	To update the fees to enable Land Registry to generate income sufficient to meet its operating expenses under Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970.	With the agreement of the Rules Committee and in line with the recommendations of the UUJ report, the Department intends to place the new Fees Order on hold pending the return of the Northern Ireland housing market to a steady state.
Secondary Legislation under the Legal Complaints and Regulation (NI) Act 2015	To enable the full powers associated with the office of “Legal Services Oversight Commissioner” to come into force.	It is still the intention of the department to advance this in the current mandate.

Statutory Rules (subject to Negative Resolution)

Title	Purpose	Status
The Building (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021	Amendment of Building Regulations in relation to Fire Safety and Radon Issues.	Public Consultation on Fire Safety and Radon issues finished in October 2020. The Department’s Building Standards Branch (BSB) has completed an analysis of the consultation responses and given evidence to the Finance Committee. The outcome of ongoing reviews in other jurisdictions are awaited to inform final proposals being considered by the local Building Regulations Advisory Committee (NIBRAC). The Department hopes to bring forward a Building Regulations amendment (Statutory Rule) and changes to supporting guidance in the relevant Technical Booklets within this Executive mandate.
The Building (Prescribed Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2022	Amendment of the Building (Prescribed Fees) Regulations 1997 to uplift the fees set by Schedules 1 & 2	Minister has approved proposal, consultation documents are being finalised and it is anticipated to go to public consultation by end of Summer 2021. The Department hopes to bring forward a Statutory Rule by April 2022

Westminster Bills requiring LCMs

Title	Purpose	Status
Public Service Pensions Bill	To remove unlawful age discrimination identified in NI public service pension schemes as a consequence of the ‘McCloud ruling’	LCM proposal considered and agreed by Executive on 3 June 2021. Bill introduced at Westminster on 19 July 2021 https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3032 LCM to be laid in September 2021 following introduction of Bill.