The New Executive Tweeted live… (updated with chairs/vice chairs)
So the d’Hondt Bingo competition is over, announcement Monday… So far on Twitter from the NI Executive Tweets we have:
Choice 1 DUP – Finance and Personnel
Choice 2 SF – Education
Choice 3 DUP – Enterprise Trade and Industry
Choice 4 UUP – Regional Development
Choice 5 SF – Agriculture and Rural Development
Choice 6 SDLP – Environment
Choice 7 DUP – Social Development
Choice 8 SF – Culture Arts and Leisure
Choice 9 DUP – Health
Choice 10 Alliance – Employment and Learning
In terms of committee chairs and vice chairs …
# Statutory committees
Justice – Chair DUP; Deputy chair SF
Finance & Personnel – Chair SF; Deputy chair, SDLP
Education – Chair DUP; Deputy chair, UUP
OFMDFM – Chair UUP; Deputy chair, Alliance
Health – Chair SF; Deputy chair, DUP
DETI – Chair SDLP; Deputy chair, SF
DARD – Chair DARD; Deputy chair, SDLP
DSD – Chair SF; Deputy chair, SF
DCAL – Chair DUP; Deputy chair, DUP
DOE – Chair Alliance; Deputy chair, DUP
DEL – Chair UUP; Deputy chair, DUP
DRD – Chair DUP; Deputy chair, SF
# Standing committees
Assembly & Executive Review Committee – Chair DUP; Vice chair SF
Public Accounts Committee – Chair SF; Vice chair SDLP
Standards & Privileges – Chair DUP; Vice chair Alliance
Procedures – Chair SF; Vice chair DUP
Audit – Chris UUP; Vice chair DUP
Zig,
We could also use the scheme they have in the south whereby you can get your annual train ticket through your employer tax free. I suspect that’ll have to come from London though.
An Ceide,
Good spot. In the several threads we’ve had on the A5, I cannot see where the alternative goodies are. Or how the UUP will get the cash out of DFP to pay for them.
Once again, Mr Elliott’s gut rural politics will be forced to confront the urban-centric reality of Stormont-on-the-hill.
I think the SDLP have lucked out a wee bit. Environment should have a role in the RPA negotiations and they have some influence over planning.
No big money pots (but we’ve seen the vulnerability of spending departments to shrinking budgets), but it will get the Minister out and about in the countryside, which is one place the SDLP definitely need to be.
The Fermanagh Herald/Impartial Reporter are much more important to their fight back than a south Belfast media (to reference FJH) some of whose most influential players have already written them off.
On Education
The regional minister needs to take a lead from their boss in London:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8493158/Schoolchildren-being-failed-by-comprehensive-education.html
Gove is in charge of the exam system in England , Wales and NI. The devolved ‘minister’ here needs to acknowledge that.
Drift,
Re Translink, it is simple. It’s because you need legislation to effect such a profound change.
It is fantasy politics of Caitriona Ruane proportions to think you can achieve that without without a sufficient consensus on BOTH sides of the Castle.
Re Education, all you have done is link a lecture by the head of Charterhouse School saying what a great idea it would be if we had academic selection. Where in the Northern Ireland Act does it even remotely suggest that Education is either a reserved or excepted matter?
Chris Donnelly:
“I’m sure attendance wouldn’t be a problem, not now that the eligibility dispute has been resolved for good.
You’ll not be seeing any change in the Sinn Fein line, which is essentially that, this side of the establishment of an all-Ireland team, northerners should have the right to represent either international side.”
I’d settle for the new Minister wishing the team well, referring to it by its proper name, and not making any misleading statements about it or its support.
As a puzzled NIW member of staff can anyone shine any light on UUP’s plans for the Water Company – privatisation or no?
Their manifesto is very non-commital in that regard.
Mick et al?
The Telegraph link, there was a previous one about the dumbing down of exams and modules and building up the FE sector by Michael Gove. The point being, the regional education minister here cannot ignore his reforms. He is going to reform the whole system, get rid of modular exams, transfer at 14 to FE college etc and the ‘local’ minister cannot ignore this, as they are funded from Westminster. DEL will also be part of this change, so the Alliance ‘minister’ will have a baptism of fire.
it may come to a ‘Westminster or Stormont’ firefight. Onlt one winner there.
OFMDFM is still the critical department for a policy move of that scale H20. Neither party have the will to privatise. The UUP minister will have to be led on that one. Their performance on the PAC investigation does not inspire much confidence they know which way is up.
DUP wants mutualisation and the company off the books. SF say they want it back in the department (even though Conor excepted that the department could not afford it).
Now they have ejected their Minister out of that mess, and the size of the dent NIW is putting on the budget, I would expect it to get resolved closer to the DUP’s.
NIW: the UUP have pinched the Green proposal for mutualising water. But haven’t said anything about meters.
On the committee choices: why are there no committees run by the actual opposition (any of the three)? If you want proper scrutiny of government departments, it is somewhat chancy to leave it up to members who also have a Minister in the Executive.
It is interesting to note that Sinn Fein have taken culture.
What you will now see is the development of a strategy for promotion of the Irish Language – something that the department has hitherto done very little about. SF may also try to introduce another Irish Language Act – fairly certain to be defeated but will act as a nice focus for sectarian histrionics.
Perhaps, however, they might be more sensible about the Ulster Museum.
Dave,
You might have a case for that idea if the three non-government MLAs were aligned somehow under a common banner.
This is the crappy part of the whole setup at Stormont. It’s designed to marginalize those who cannot obtain enough seats to participate in the executive.