Stormont: Criticism over devolution safeguarding law changes delay

The changes would extend the time to appoint a new first or deputy first minister after a resignation from seven days to six weeks

The British government has been criticised for a delay in changing laws that would safeguard against future collapses of power-sharing at Stormont.

The New Decade, New Approach deal was signed in January.

It included a commitment to extend the time to appoint a new first or deputy first minister after a resignation from seven days to six weeks.

However, almost a year on, it has emerged this has not yet been legislated for.

The changes would also see the current 14-day window to appoint ministers after an assembly election extended to six weeks.

A UK government spokesperson told BBC News NI: "The government will bring forward such legislation when Parliamentary time allows".

Ulster Unionist peer Lord Empey said six weeks was "the right amount of time" and questioned the delay.

"You've got a very difficult situation with up to five parties participating in a government, forcing them into a position in seven days or two weeks is unnecessary," he said.

Nearly a year has passed since Northern Ireland's power-sharing government was restored

Alliance assembly member Kellie Armstrong expressed concerns that recent rows within the executive over Covid-19 restrictions could have sparked another executive collapse, without the new safeguards in place.

"While I appreciate there is a lot going on in Westminster, the government has had time prior to Brexit legislation to do this," she said.

"We've had difficult times and other than the fact we've had Covid-19 to deal with, there was a risk the executive could have collapsed again.

"It's purely where there's a will there's a way, I don't think [NI Secretary] Brandon Lewis realises he needs to move things forward."

A Sinn Féin spokesperson said: "It would be unthinkable that the political institutions would come to the brink of collapse again after three years without functioning government, particularly as we respond to the biggest public health crisis in a generation.

"Sinn Féin is working with the other four parties united in our determination to deliver a stable power-sharing coalition that works on the basis of fairness to solve the problems facing this society.

"Delivery of the New Decade, New Approach deal is the basis on which the five parties re-entered Stormont after a prolonged political negotiation, and it is critical that it is implemented, by both the Irish and British Governments and the parties as we move towards one year of restoration ‪on 11 January‬."

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Stormont's political institutions were restored in January after three years of stalemate between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin.

Sinn Féin deputy first minister at the time, the late Martin McGuinness, had resigned in 2017 over First Minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster's handling of a renewable green energy scandal, known as RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive).

As Northern Ireland's executive operates in a mandatory coalition meaning power is shared equally between unionist and nationalist parties, his resignation - and the failure to appoint a replacement within the seven day window - triggered an assembly election.

The parties, along with the British and Irish governments, had agreed in the talks that led to New Decade, New Approach, that this timeframe should be extended to six weeks to safeguard against sudden collapses in the future.

The government also agreed to change the law to allow ministers in post at the time of any future executive collapse to remain in post for a maximum of 48 weeks, in order to provide "greater continuity of decision-making" - but this has not happened yet either.

Lord Empey said he hoped the delay by the government to legislate for that element was a sign it was reconsidering that proposal, as he believed it was not in the interests of "democratic accountability".

The commitments require the government to make amendments to the 1998 Northern Ireland Act, the legislation passed following the Good Friday peace deal, which paved the way for the modern power-sharing institutions at Stormont.