Debate contribution: Constituency Office Security
Debate contribution by Mrs Sinéad Ennis on .
- MLA
- Mrs Sinéad Ennis
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 25 June 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Constituency Office Security
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4498684
Read the official Assembly record
Text
With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will answer questions 6 and 14 together. I thank the Members for their questions. I assure Members that the security of staff and Members working in constituency offices is something the Assembly Commission takes extremely seriously and has discussed frequently in recent times. The Assembly Commission recognises that we are in a different environment now from when the Assembly was first established, particularly with social media, and is mindful of the experiences of Members across the House. The Assembly Commission considered a number of options and agreed that additional funding will be made available to Members for the provision of security measures. As Members will be aware, financial assistance is provided through the Assembly Members (Salaries and Expenses) Determination 2016, as amended by the Assembly Members (Salaries and Expenses) (Amendment) Determination 2020. Currently, Members can claim for health and safety and security measures at their constituency offices from the £7,000 constituency office operating expenses budget or their £4,000 establishment expenses budget.
Both limits were increased in 2020 to reflect the inclusion of security measures in the list of admissible expenditure. The Assembly Commission has, however, agreed that further funding should now be made available to Members to be used exclusively for the provision of security measures at constituency offices and/or Members' private dwellings.
The additional allowance may also cover the provision of lone worker devices, should Members elect to purchase such devices for themselves or their support staff. Some £4,000 will be made available to Members for that purpose. Further changes to the determination will be required to give effect to that decision. A revised determination will be published once the specifics of the provision and a number of other administrative changes are agreed. The head of Usher Services has recently been in contact with the PSNI, which has historically taken the lead on personal security matters and crime prevention advice. The PSNI has provided advice on such matters to Members on request. That has included carrying out survey visits to constituency offices and providing advice and recommendations relevant to personal and physical security measures. The PSNI also briefed Members and their office staff at Parliament Buildings on 30 April this year. The briefing was well attended and provided an opportunity for Members and their staff to seek personal security advice and to raise specific issues about their personal security.
397 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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