Governance
Here you will find blogs produced by our research officers in relation to education and skills. Please note that the blogs you will find here are blogs that have been published since 1 May 2022. We also have an archive of blogs where you will find everything published before May 2022.
Brexit
Having been granted Royal Assent on 21 July 2025, the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 moved from debate into law, opening a new phase in the UK’s approach
Context In September 2025 the Council of the European Union published a Decision to seek to add the new EU regulation on forced labour to the list of laws
On 11 February 2025, the European Commission (the Commission) will present its Work Programme (CWP) for the year ahead during the European Parliament’s plenary session. Publication of the CWP
Democracy and Government
The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies made a series of changes to the boundaries of the 18 Northern Ireland parliamentary constituency areas. These were passed into law in 2023
Engagement with the academic community can be helpful for fostering informed discussions and decisions within the Northern Ireland Assembly. Academic research is typically robust and independent, offering evidence-based insights
The Assembly’s Research and Information Service (RaISe) partners with academia and other academic institutions under its ‘Programme of Academic Engagement’. Knowledge Exchange (KE) activities play a central role in
Justice
This blog article focuses on legal aid available for criminal matters, highlighting ongoing challenges like industrial action by criminal barristers in the Crown Court. It also considers the recommendations
On 26 November, the Assembly discussed 16 Days of Activism, a global campaign against gender-based violence which highlights how violence against women endangers our societies and undermines the core
Every year, World Mental Health Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the state of mental health services globally. In Northern Ireland (NI), the intersection between mental health and
Planning
Statistics and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Demography is the study of human populations, focusing on their size and structure (age, sex and ethnicity). This blog article reviews the population of Northen Ireland, and focuses on
People in Northern Ireland can now expect to live into their late seventies and early eighties, yet only to around age 60 in good health. This means many spend
The interactive map highlights the locations (spatial areas) in each of the 18 constituencies where the impact of proposed changes to PIP are likely to be most pronounced.