Statement by TUV North Antrim MLA Timothy Gaston:
“While I am not aware of any announcement from the committee established to look at the Assembly Members (Remuneration Board) Bill that they are seeking views of the public, I noticed this morning that a call for evidence opened on Tuesday.
“The TUV response to the call for evidence is reproduced below.
“Members of the public can let MLAs on the committee know what they think of the proposals which would see them awarded a massive pay rise by completing the survey at the following link .”
Submitted to Assembly Members (Remuneration Board) Bill – Call for Evidence
If you are providing a submission on behalf of an organisation please state its name
TUV
If you are providing a submission on behalf of an organisation please select its type.
Political Party
If you are providing a submission on behalf of an organisation please state its purpose.
The defence and strengthening of Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom.
Do you consent to your submission being published on the Committee’s website and included in the Committee’s report?
Yes. Publish in full.
Questions Relating to Relevant Clauses in the Bill
Clause 1
The “Remuneration Board” better reflects the purpose of the body
Strongly Agree
Clause 2
It is appropriate for the determination of Assembly members’ salaries and pensions to be determined by an independent panel/board rather
than by the Assembly Commission.
Strongly Agree
It is appropriate for the determination of adequate resources required by Members for the exercise of their functions to be determined by the
Assembly Commission rather than by an independent panel/board.
Strongly Agree
The independent financial review panel got it wrong on a number of issues. The ridiculous rule about not having a phone number or an email address on an MLA office sign is an obvious example so we support this suggestion.
Clause 3
The independent panel/board should have regard to the salaries payable to members of other legislatures when making determinations as to the salaries payable to Members of the Assembly
Strongly Disagree
MLAs do not deserve a pay rise to put them in line with Members of other Parliaments and assemblies because, uniquely, the Northern Ireland Assembly decided that there are vast areas of law and policy that it does not want to have any say over. If the Assembly is so pompous as to believe that it is just as important and competent as the legislatures listed in clause 3 of the Bill, why did the majority of Members vote to give away lawmaking powers to Brussels, where no one from Northern Ireland has any say in the laws that govern two thirds of our economy? Unless or until MLAs have the self-respect to reclaim those laws, they should not be treated like members of any other legislature.
The legislatures listed above are the appropriate legislatures to consider when making such determinations
Strongly Disagree
Quite apart from the points made above why would a legislature in Northern Ireland concern itself with what members of foreign legislatures in the Irish Republic are paid?
Clause 4
The temporary filling of vacant positions on the board/panel should be permitted, pending the appointment of replacements.
Agree
Clause 5
Former Members of the Assembly should be permitted to sit on the panel/board.
Strongly Disagree
This represents a clear conflict of interest on two fronts. First, one would assume that a former Member will have maintained some sort of relationship with Members, who would stand to benefit financially from the decisions of the board. Secondly, as a former Member, he or she would benefit from pension determinations. Such a situation cannot be allowed to go unchallenged. There were good reasons why former MLAs were excluded from the original panel. Those reasons remain valid. It is noteworthy that the previous independent financial review panel had just three members. If, as the Bill anticipates, one of those members is a former MLA, that is a sizeable chunk of its membership.
Clause 6
It is appropriate for determinations to be made at least 6 months before the date of the poll for the Assembly elections.
Agree
Provision should be made to require determinations to be published in draft and made the subject of consultation.
Agree
Consultation should be undertaken before the Board issues determinations more than once in respect of an Assembly, or otherwise than in accordance with the timing rules set out in subsection (2).
Agree