Title page
Contents
Summary 4
1. Background 5
1.1. Legislative provision 5
1.2. May 2022 Assembly election 6
1.3. Attempts to elect a Speaker 7
1.4. The statutory deadline expires 7
1.5. Further legislative provision 8
1.6. Further attempts to elect a Speaker 9
1.7. Executive Formation Bill 9
1.8. The Windsor Framework and the "Stormont Brake" 10
1.9. Interim Arrangements Bill 10
1.10. Northern Ireland Budget 11
1.11. Unionist concerns regarding the Protocol 11
1.12. Northern Ireland Affairs Committee 12
1.13. Roundtable talks 12
1.14. Strikes and Assembly recall 13
1.15. Further legislative provision 14
2. Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill 2023-24 16
2.1. Executive formation 16
2.2. Fast-tracking 16
2.3. Reaction to the Bill 17
3. The Bill - clause by clause analysis 18
3.1. Extension of period for making Ministerial appointments 18
3.2. Compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights 18