When was ni assembly suspended

The refurbishment of the Assembly Chamber in Parliament Buildings was completed during the summer months, and since the second sitting on 14 September the Assembly has met in that Chamber. The Northern Ireland Assembly consists of 90 elected Members - five from each of the 18 Westminster constituencies.

Its role is primarily to scrutinise and make decisions on the issues dealt with by Government Departments and to consider and make legislation. They must stand for election jointly and to be elected they must have cross-community support by the parallel consent formula, which means that a majority of both the Members who have designated themselves Nationalists and those who have designated themselves Unionists and a majority of the whole Assembly, must vote in favour.

The parties elected to the Assembly choose Ministerial portfolios and select Ministers in proportion to their party strength. Each party has a designated nominating officer and the d'Hondt procedure is used for the appointment of Ministers.

Committee Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons are elected using the d'Hondt procedure. Committee membership is filled based on party strengths in accordance with Standing Order There is also a number Standing and Ad Hoc Committees. For details of committee membership and work, please follow this link. The Speaker has a scrutiny role in relation to the competence of legislation prior to the First and Final Stages of a Bill. He selects amendments to Bills and Motions for debate and selects questions for oral answer.

Following the first reading of a Bill the Speaker sends a copy to the Human Rights Commission and on the completion of all the Stages of a Bill he sends it to the Secretary of State requesting Royal Assent. The Speaker also hosts and attends a range of events designed to promote an understanding of the Assembly as an institution and to develop links with the wider Northern Ireland community as well as within the UK and internationally.

The Assembly Commission , which is the corporate body of the Assembly, is responsible for providing the Assembly with "property, staff and services". It consists of five members of the Assembly and is chaired by the Speaker. The Business Committee consists of the Whips from the various political parties. It makes arrangements for the business of the Assembly. Details of the membership and workings of these bodies can be found by following the above links.

In the early months of the Shadow Assembly, some further elements were added to its basic structure by means of amendments to Standing Orders. One such change created the Committee of the Centre now known as the Committee for the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to examine and report on various functions carried out in the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

During the six months from September much of the necessary preparatory work for devolution was done. This included the establishment of a Committee to draw up Standing Orders for the procedures to govern operations of the Assembly and also the formation of a Shadow Assembly Commission, which became the Assembly Commission after devolution.

Agreement was reached on the creation of new departmental structures. These were approved by the Assembly on 18 January and form the basis of the present Northern Ireland Departments. On 16 February the Assembly approved the numbers and titles of the new Departments and also provided for the composition and operation of the Civic Forum. With the approval of Standing Orders on 9 March this preparatory work was completed.

The Shadow Assembly did not meet again in plenary session until 15 July Despite the fact that agreement had not been reached on the formation of an Executive, the Assembly met on 15 July to activate the d'Hondt procedure for the nomination of Ministers.

Since, under Additional Initial Standing Orders, Ministers could only hold office if their nominations included three designated Unionists and three designated Nationalists the conditions for their appointment had not been met and the Assembly was adjourned. This article is more than 1 year old. Stormont to elect new speaker and nominate ministers as part of power-sharing deal.

Parliament in Belfast will resume work next week after a three-year break. Stormont talks: will power sharing return to Northern Ireland? Read more. But what exactly is Stormont and what caused it to collapse in the first place? Stormont is the commonly used name to refer to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which is based in the Stormont Estate, in east Belfast.

The assembly is where political business relating to Northern Ireland takes place, with laws made and scrutinised by 90 elected representatives. It was created in , after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement , which helped end more than 30 years of armed conflict known as the Troubles. Stormont uses a system of government known as power-sharing. This has allowed nationalist and unionist political parties to share power together for the first time in an executive or government , alongside a legislative chamber made up of assembly members which proposes and scrutinises laws.

Nationalists favour unity with the Republic of Ireland, while unionists want Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK. When it is sitting, Stormont exercises powers over most matters, including the economy, education, health, policing and justice, and agriculture. But certain areas - including international relations and defence - remain reserved for the UK government in London.

Since then, the Northern Ireland Assembly has been suspended. The Irish language has divided opinion because it is seen as important to many nationalists, some unionists and others as a symbol of identity. But political unionism rejected previous attempts by nationalist parties to introduce legislation in the assembly, prior to its collapse in , and has resisted calls for it to happen in order for Stormont to be restored.