Justice 2 Committee, 14 Jun 2005

Meeting date: Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Official Report 111KB pdf

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Petition

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Public Bodies (Complainers' Rights) (PE578)

Item 5 on the agenda is petition PE578, which came before the committee previously and was deferred pending our hearing from the Executive about its intentions. A background paper by the clerks has been circulated to members with a recent letter from the Deputy Minister for Justice that indicates that the Executive is still giving considerable thought to the issues raised in the petition. The deputy minister says that it:

"is a complex and sensitive issue on which my officials have been working closely with colleagues in the Education Department."

He is not yet in a position to offer a full reply to the committee, but hopes to be able to do so in the near future.

It is logical to wait for the fuller reply from the deputy minister because, until we have that, we would be acting without essential information. We should defer action until that fuller response becomes available and then try to find a slot in the committee's pressured timetable to discuss the petition again.

I agree that we need to see the minister's proposals before we can take the matter any further.

So the wish of the committee is to await a fuller response from the Executive and continue its position until that response is available.

Members indicated agreement.

Do members agree that we should write to the petitioner to keep him informed?

Members indicated agreement.