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A blog from the Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service

Governance Blog Archive

Here you will find an archive of Governance Blog articles published before 1 May 2022, divided into their relevant categories.

Brexit

An image showing the Chamber of the House of Commons
The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill returns to the House of Commons this week. MPs will consider the Bill in a Committee of the whole House. The Bill repeals the European…
Image by Professor Glenn D Wilson, used under Creative Commons
Mutual recognition and co-operation underpin many EU law provisions. This article looks at some of the legislative options for one particular provision following Brexit; the European Arrest Warrant (EAW)….
Strangford Lough from Scrabo Hill (Image: Colin Park under Creative Commons)
As the Prime Minister prepares to trigger Article 50, this blog post looks at the potential consequences for environmental standards here in Northern Ireland….

Democracy and Government

The plenary chamber of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Please note that more up-to-date statistics on gender representation can be found in the RaISe research paper Who Runs Northern Ireland? A Summary of Statistics Relating to Gender and…
Assembly Chamber, Parliament Buildings, Belfast
The 2016-21 mandate begins in the midst of significant institutional reform….
A polling station sign.
On 5 May voters went to the polls to elect 108 Members to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Elections in Northern Ireland are an excepted matter, meaning the UK Parliament…

Justice

An image of a statue of a woman holding the scales of justice
In September 2021, Clare Bailey MLA introduced the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill to the Assembly. The Bill passed Second Stage on 12 October 2021 and would require…
A black and white image of a woman with her hand covering her face
In 2016 a man called Lance Hart shot his wife Claire and daughter Charlotte outside a swimming pool in Lincolnshire, England, before turning his shotgun on himself. Some of…
Image of a man holding a smartphone
    Last month, a new law came into force in England and Wales making upskirting a criminal offence. Upskirting involves taking a photo or video under a person’s…

Planning

The merging of environment and agriculture
Local government underwent significant structural change in 2015 with the number of councils reducing from 26 to 11, and the transfer of many functions from central to local government….

Statistics and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

A line graph showing the number of COVID-19 vaccinations
By Aaron McMurray & James Bamford This dashboard has been prepared by the Assembly Research and Information Service (RaISe) to visualise data describing the spread of COVID-19 in Northern…
A black and white image showing a row of glasses and a bottle
Overview The latest figures published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (February 2021) show that the number of alcohol-specific deaths in 2019 was the highest ever…
A screenshot showing the distribution of foodbanks in NI
Foodbanks are an increasingly useful resource for many in Northern Ireland. They provide a valuable service to communities and are continually helping to feed those in need. An interactive…