Legislative Record

Some Facts and Figures

In the 2017 to 2022 mandate, the Assembly passed 46 Acts. Of these, 36 were Executive Bills and 10 were Private Members' Bills (PMBs) . This was a shortened mandate, which lasted from January 2020 to March 2022 and the Assembly was under considerable pressure to deal with a high volume of legislation. All of the Executive Bills introduced were passed and 10 of 19 PMBs. The Assembly made a total of 743 amendments to Bills. The Bill with the most amendments (107) was the Climate Change Bill. Details of all Bills and Acts for this mandate can be found here: 2017 - 2022 Mandate Acts (niassembly.gov.uk)

The previous, even shorter, mandate of 2016-17, saw only one Act passed by the Assembly - to set the budget for the year. Two other bills fell when the government institutions collapsed in January 2017. 

In the full mandate of 2011 to 2016, the Assembly passed 67 Bills. Sixty of these were Executive Bills and 5 were PMBs. There was also a Committee Bill, to establish a single office to deal with complaints about public services – the Public Service Ombudsman Bill (and a second, technical, Bill on the same issue). Bills which were introduced, but did not complete the legislative process, included 4 Executive Bills and 5 PMBs. The Assembly made a total of 1,953 amendments to Bills. 

Going back further, to the 2007 and March 2011 mandate, the Assembly passed 69 Acts. Eleven MLAs introduced PMBs and 3 were passed, including the Autism Bill. A committee, in partnership with the Assembly Commission, introduced a Bill to allow for the independent review of MLAs’ salaries and expenses. The Bill also created the post of Assembly Ombudsman to handle complaints against MLAs. The Planning Bill was the largest piece of legislation during this mandate. It had most amendments made to it – 145. 

Find further information on legislation passed in recent mandates in the Resource box.  

For further information on all Bills and Acts, go to Northern Ireland Assembly Legislation (niassembly.gov.uk). You can view the progress of individual Bills throught the various stages of the legislative process - how long it took a Bill to complete and what amendments were made.