CONSULTATION ON NI ASSEMBLY MEMBERS’ SALARIES AND OFFICE HOLDER ALLOWANCES, OFFICE EXPENSES AND PENSIONS

Introduction

Before July 2011, the Northern Ireland Assembly was responsible for determining Members’ salaries and allowances under section 47 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.  This legislation also explicitly prevented the Assembly from delegating this function to another body.

Members’ salaries and any additional salary payments made to Assembly Office Holders were determined by the Assembly in the Northern Ireland Assembly (Members’ Salaries) Determination 2000.

In May 2007, prior to the restoration of devolution, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland asked the Review Body on Senior Salaries (SSRB) to conduct a review of the existing structure for Members’ salaries, expenditure and pension benefits.  The SSRB report which was published in 2008, included a recommendation that the Assembly should consider the option of committing themselves to accepting the outcome of independent reviews of their salaries, etc without modification.  This is in line with the practice of the House of Commons at Westminster and the National Assembly for Wales.

The Northern Ireland Assembly agreed to a recommendation by the Assembly Commission that the Northern Ireland Act 1998 should be amended to enable the Assembly to delegate the function of determining salaries, allowances and pensions to an independent statutory body.  This amendment to the Act was made at Westminster and the Independent Financial Review Panel was subsequently established for this purpose by the Assembly Members (Independent Financial Review and Standards) Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.

The Independent Financial Review Panel was appointed on 1 July 2011.

Assembly Members’ Salaries

Currently, Assembly Members’ salaries are paid in accordance with the levels determined by the Northern Ireland Assembly (Members’ Salaries) Determination 2000, a copy of which is enclosed.  From 3 July 2010, MLAs who are also MPs no longer received any salary from the Assembly i.e. their Assembly salary is abated by 100%. Increases in both Members’ and Office Holders’ salaries were recommended in SSRB Reports of 2002 and 2008 but the Assembly did not implement these.  The Assembly subsequently introduced legislation to establish an independent body to determine the level of Members’ salaries, allowances and pension (see above).

Assembly Members’ salaries are at the level set in the 2000 Determination (including increases in line with the indexation provisions of that Determination).  The Assembly completed its first continuous mandate in 2011. In the period between 2007 (when devolution was restored) to the end of the mandate in 2011, there were no further suspensions of business but the indexation provisions were not applied.  Therefore  salary payments to Members and Office Holders did not increase on 1 April 2008 or any subsequent year. During that period responsibility for policing and justice issues was devolved to the Assembly resulting in an additional Government Minister and Department and the establishment of a further scrutiny Committee.  The Assembly and Executive Review Committee was also set up.  The Assembly is becoming firmly established and Members are now fully settled into their roles.

Assembly Office Holders

Assembly Members who are also Office Holders are paid an allowance in addition to their salaries to reflect the added responsibilities.  These additional amounts were also established by the Northern Ireland Assembly (Members’ Salaries) Determination 2000.  Recommendations by the SSRB that these should be increased were not implemented.  The offices for which an additional amount is paid are as follows:

Speaker
Committee Chair
Committee Deputy Chair
Commission Member
First Minister / deputy First Minister
Minister
Junior Minister

Comparative Information

A table showing the level of the salaries and Office Holder allowances of members of the Northern Ireland Assembly compared to those of the House of Commons, Dáil Éireann, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales is attached at Annex A.

Assembly Members’ Expenses

Assembly Members are entitled to claim the reimbursement of certain expenses, up to prescribed limits, incurred in relation to the running of offices to support their Assembly and constituency work.  The categories and levels of these expenses were established by the Northern Ireland Assembly (Members’ Expenditure) Determination 2010, a copy of which is enclosed.

Assembly Members’ Pension Scheme (NI 2008)

Information about the Assembly Members’ Pension Scheme is available at www.niassembly.gov.uk/members

ANNEX A

SALARIES AND OFFICE HOLDER ALLOWANCES (JULY 2011)

	NI Assembly	Scottish Parliament	National Assembly for Wales	House of Commons	Dáil Éireann5
Position	MLA	MSP	AM	MP	TD
	£	£	£	£	£
Member only	43,101	57,521	53,852	65,738	81,550
Speaker	80,902	100,748	95,801	134,565	148,960
Deputy Speaker1	51,600	84,598	80,237	98,740	114,440
Committee Chair2	54,432	57,521	66,272	80,319	89,910
Deputy Committee Chair3	48,768	57,521	N/A	N/A	81,550
Member of Commission	54,432	57,521	66,272	65,738	89,910
First Minister4	114,535	140,847	134,722	142,500	176,000
Minister	80,902	100,748	95,801	134,565	148,960
Junior Minister	62,710	84,598	80,237	98,740	114,440
Notes:
1. The figure for the House of Commons is for the highest paid Deputy Speaker
2. Some Welsh Committee Chairs receive a lower rate, with a total salary of £62,132
3. There are no Deputy Committee Chairs in Wales or Westminster
4. The deputy First Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly receives the same salary as the First Minister
5. Exchange rate of 1 Euro = £0.88 (at 20 July 2011) and rounded to nearest ten pounds
Sources:
Finance Office, NI Assembly
Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe)
National Assembly for Wales Research Service
House of Commons Information Office
Oireachtas One-Stop-Shop