Overview

This bill makes various amendments to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, primarily focusing on strengthening cross-community support requirements for changes to the Northern Ireland Assembly's size and enhancing oversight of the independence and impartiality of key Northern Ireland bodies such as the Civil Service Commission and the Human Rights Commission.

Description

The bill introduces several key changes:

• Assembly Size Changes: Requires cross-community support in the Northern Ireland Assembly to pass any bill altering its size. The Secretary of State cannot submit such a bill for Royal Assent if this requirement isn't met.
• Civil Service Commission Oversight: Introduces a requirement for a parliamentary report at least three months before any order amending the Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland is laid before Parliament. The report must assess the impact on the commission's independence, merit-based appointments, and impartiality.
• Human Rights Commission Oversight: Similar to the Civil Service Commission, a parliamentary report is required three months prior to any order amending the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. This report will assess the impact on its independence, adherence to international principles, and relationship with the Assembly.
• Miscellaneous Amendments: Makes other minor amendments to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, affecting matters related to transferred, excepted, and reserved matters.
• Protection of Freedoms Act 2012: Ensures that certain sections of this Bill come into effect immediately after a relevant paragraph of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 comes into force.

Government Spending

The bill's financial implications are not explicitly stated in the provided text. The cost may be associated with the production of the reports required before amendments to the Civil Service Commission and Human Rights Commission, though exact figures are unavailable.

Groups Affected

• Northern Ireland Assembly: Affected by the new cross-community support requirement for changes to its size.
• Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland: Subject to increased parliamentary oversight regarding their independence, impartiality, and appointment processes.
• Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission: Similarly, subject to increased parliamentary oversight concerning its independence, adherence to international standards, and relationship with the Assembly.
• Secretary of State for Northern Ireland: Takes on additional responsibilities for reporting on the impact of potential changes to the above-mentioned bodies.
• Parliament: Receives additional reports and plays a greater role in overseeing the Northern Ireland Civil Service Commission and Human Rights Commission.

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