"Extend the period for forming an Executive under section 1(1) of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Act 2018 and to impose a duty on the Secretary of State to report on progress towards the formation of an Executive in Northern Ireland."
Northern Ireland is supposed
to have devolved government under the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 but "power-sharing" came to an end in January 2017 and there has not been a functioning Northern Ireland Executive since. As this timeline of events shows, plans were announced in April 2019 to establish a new round of talks involving all the main political parties in Northern Ireland, and the UK and Irish prime ministers.
Numerous amendments to this Bill have been tabled. These seek to address several issues specific to Northern Ireland: abortion, same-sex marriage or civil partnership, historical institutional abuse, and certain pensions for victims.
Further amendments have been tabled by Dominic Grieve MP.
Mr Grieve (and reportedly many other MPs) are concerned about the possibility that a new Prime Minister could secure the prorogation of Parliament in order to prevent Parliament opposing a "no deal" Brexit - previous post. His amendments to the Executive Formation Bill would require the Minister to report back to the Commons on or before 9 October 2019 (and fortnightly thereafter) as to how matters are progressing towards restoring devolved government.
In the event that Parliament is prorogued, Mr Grieve's amendments would require a Proclamation to recall Parliament. This is similar to the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 section 28. "Queen's Consent" would be required for Mr Grieve's amendment about recall to become law.
It is for the Speaker to decide the amendments which are put to a vote and so it does not follow that Mr Grieve's amendments will proceed.
Outcome:
Mr Grieve's amendment requiring a recall of Parliament was not selected for voting - The Guardian 9 July 2019. However, his amendment requiring fortnightly reports was accepted and the House narrowly voted in its favour - 294 votes to 293 . The voting is explained at BBC News 9 July 2019.
It may be that the requirement for reports will prevent the Prorogation of Parliament. Mr Grieve said - " .... my view is that because it specifies in statute particular days on which things should be happening in this House, it is arguable that it therefore replaces the prerogative because the Queen in Parliament has decreed that certain things should happen by law, and that, of course, replaces the royal prerogative as exercised by Ministers." Neverthless, Mr Grieve admitted that this was a "moot point."
The view that prerogative is replaced seems questionable given that the Bill, even as amended, does not specifically address the question of prorogation. Nonetheless, a number of MPs placed on record their view that a prorogation to push through Brexit would not be acceptable. For example, Hilary Benn MP (Labour) hoped that the idea of proroguing Parliament to deny Members the chance to express a view about the Brexit process would "disappear into the dustbin of history where it belongs."
Amendments to the Bill concerning abortion and same-sex marriage passed - The Guardian 10 July 2019 - "MPs have voted resoundingly to extend same-sex marriage and access to abortion to Northern Ireland, bringing the region into line with the rest of the UK on the two significant social issues." However, as reported at BBC News, implementation depends on whether devolution is restored.
The Bill received its Third Reading and will now proceed to the House of Lords.
Hansard 9 July 2019 is the official record of the proceedings.
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