Schedule 4: Minor and consequential amendments Schedule 2: new Schedule 4A to the 1998 Act: Department with policing and justice functions Section 20: Provision for entrenching enactments
84.This section inserts a new section 86B (provision for entrenching enactments) into the 1998 Act. This enables an Order in Council to amend section 7 of the 1998 Act, so as to “entrench” additional enactments, or to provide that entrenchments should cease to have effect. An Order under this section would require affirmative resolution approval. An enactment entrenched under this power could not be amended by the Assembly, but could nevertheless be a transferred matter. The power enables Acts and individual provisions of Acts, in particular, to be entrenched.
85.During suspension, the power could be used to entrench amendments made to enactments relating to matters which are already transferred. For example, it could be used to entrench an amendment to create a policing precept to give the Assembly the power to provide an enhanced level of expenditure on policing by raising money for policing from the Northern Ireland regional rate.