Committees of the Assembly take decisions by a simple majority vote.

Modern democracy is about representation.. We elect Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA s) to the Northern Ireland Assembly.There are 90 MLAs, 5 from each of the 18 constituencies. Thirty women were elected, compared to 20 in the 2011 assembly elections. [58] Under a further change made in 2009, a political party leader directly nominates a new MLA if his or her party won that seat at the previous election. Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs; Irish: Comhaltaí den Tionól Reachtach, CTRs; Ulster-Scots: Laa-Makkan Forgaitherars, LMFs) are representatives elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It passes laws on transferred matters including health, education, agriculture and rural development and policing and justice. Members elected Peter Robinson of the DUP as First Minister and Martin McGuinness as deputy First Minister. For queries or advice about rates, email:rating@lpsni.gov.uk, For queries or advice about property valuation, email:valuation@lpsni.gov.uk, For queries or advice about land registry, email:CustomerInformation.LandRegistration@finance-ni.gov.uk, For mapping queries, email:Mapping.Helpdesk@finance-ni.gov.uk. From March 31, when the regulations were introduced, to May 22, a total of 129 abortions were carried out in Northern Ireland. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. Robin is the Ulster Unionist Party MLA for North Antrim. Outreach Negotiations mediated by then Secretary of State James Brokenshire missed the three-week deadline provided in law for the formation of an Executive. If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above. The Assembly was in a period of suspension until January 20… We elect Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Northern Ireland election results: Record number of female MLAs take seats at Stormont. Which parties can appoint ministers to the Northern Ireland Executive is determined by a combination of mandatory coalition, the D'Hondt method and cross-community support, depending on the role, as explained above. [41][42] A party may now form or join an Assembly Opposition, granting it additional speaking, scrutiny and funding rights, if it was entitled to Ministerial roles under the D'Hondt method and declined them, or if it wins 8% or more of the seats. For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk. [25] The Minister of Justice is appointed by cross-community agreement. Following the appointment of the Executive on 11 January 2020, the full provisions of the 2016 Determination were restored and these Determinations ceased to have effect. [35], The Assembly's composition is laid down in the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Its practical implementation is the responsibility of the relevant government department. During this period amendments were made to the 2016 Determination by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland exercising powers conferred on that office by the Northern Ireland Assembly Members (Pay) Act 2018. In 1982 another Northern Ireland Assembly was established at Stormont, initially as a body to scrutinise the actions of the Secretary of State, the British minister with responsibility for Northern Ireland. For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service. Under the Assembly Members (Reduction of Numbers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016[36] the number of MLAs per constituency was reduced from 6 to 5, leaving a total of 90 seats. The Assembly Commission is the body corporate of the Assembly with all that that entails. What issues do you think your MLAs should be concerned about in your constituency? If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit. The Assembly is chaired by the Speaker and three Deputy Speakers, of whom one is appointed Principal Deputy Speaker.