Special Advisers Bill starts its legislative progress
03 July 2012
TUV Leader Jim Allister, speaking after the introduction of his Private Member’s Bill on Special Advisers, said he looked forward to both the challenge and the opportunity of the progress of the Bill through the Assembly, where the crunch 2nd stage debate will take place in late September.
“Special Advisers, of which they are 19, are publicly paid political appointees who rank as senior civil servants, but are neither appointed on merit through open competition, nor are they subject to the basic security vetting applicable to all other civil servants. This scenario gave rise to the monstrous appointment by Sinn Fein of convicted murderer, Mary McArdle; at least one other convicted person still holds such an office. The McArdle appointment rightly provoked a public outcry and this Bill is a response to that, so that never again might public money be used to make such an appointment.
“There are 5 key elements to this Bill:
• It will prohibit anyone who has a serious criminal conviction, defined as involving a 5 year sentence, from holding the post of Special Adviser;
• It will put DFP Guidance on the appointment process on a statutory footing and enshrine the requirement for the same level of security vetting as applies to senior civil servants;
• It will put the present DFP Code of Conduct for Special Advisers on a statutory basis;
• It will introduce, as at Westminster, the requirement for an annual report on the numbers and cost of Special Advisers.
• It will remove the anomaly of the Speaker still having the power to appoint a Special Adviser since he now enjoys the services of an adviser appointed through due process by the Assembly Commission – this could be important if Sinn Fein takes over the Speaker’s role.
“If Special Advisers are to have all the privileges, and pensions, of senior civil servants, then, is it too much to ask that they are subjected to parallel provisions on vetting and appointed by a process based in law, rather than mere guidance which a future Sinn Fein DFP minister could change as he pleases.
“This Bill is about setting down proper standards and protecting against the obscenity of another Mary McArdle being paid out of the public purse to the great offence of victims and common decency. It is about righting a wrong and bringing a sense of propriety to this aspect of government.
“I trust the Bill will have the support of all democrats.”
