Summary and Background
3.At present, the Northern Ireland Assembly is prevented from delegating its powers in relation to the setting of salaries and allowances for members of the Assembly by section 47(7) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which states explicitly that the Assembly may not delegate such functions. No such restriction exists in relation to the Scottish Parliament or National Assembly for Wales.
4.The Act removes this restriction and enables the Northern Ireland Assembly, should it decide to do so, to confer the functions of setting salaries and allowances for members of the Assembly on an independent body of its choosing.
5.The Act does not place a duty on the Assembly to change its system of determining salaries and allowances and it leaves it to the Assembly to decide what type of system to adopt.
6.The Act also ensures that if a salary is payable to a member of the Assembly as a member of either House of Parliament or the European Parliament, they will not receive a salary as a member of the Assembly.